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THE 



FOUR PILLARS: 



TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY DEMONSTRATED, 



IN 



Four Distinct and Independent Series of Proofs ; 



TOGETHER WITH AN EXPLANATION OF THE 



TYPES AND PROPHECIES 



CONCERNING 



THE MESSIAH. 



BY HARVEY NEWCOMB. 







■-^ /-■■ 





BOSTON: 


SETH GOLDSMITH, 


AND CROCKER & 


BREWSTER. 


Sold at the Mass. Sabbath School 


i Depository; 13 Cornbill. 


1842. 




i^- 





''t^ 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1842, 
BY HARVEY NEWCOMB, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 



PREFACE. 



The question may, with great propriety, be asked j 
«« Why publish another book on a subject which has 
been ably and thoroughly discussed by so many au- 
thors, as the Evidences of Christianity 1^^ Perhaps the 
author will not be able to give a satisfactory answer 
to this question. An eminent divine says, *'The mul- 
titude of old books affords no argument against the 
publication of new ones; since new ones will be read 
when old ones are neglected, and almost all mankind 
are in this respect Athenians. ^^ To this it may be add- 
ed, that, though there are a great many good books, 
there are more bad ones than good; therefore, as bad 
ones are constantly multiplying, so should the good 
ones. And though this book may not be so good as 
others heretofore published, yet I have reason to 
think it will be read, because the Christian public 
have always heretofore favored me with their atten- 
tion when I have asked it. But I have one reason 



iv PREFACE. 

more to give: — Some lessons on the subjects em- 
braced in this book, prefixed to my Scripture Ques- 
tions, Vol. III., have excited considerable interest 
where they have been studied, and there has seemed 
to be a call for something from me to accompany 
them. 

On a subject which has been so often discussed as 
the Evidences of Christianity, it could not be expected 
that there would be much original thought in such 
a work as this; and considering that there are so 
many works, prepared with great labor and care, al- 
ready on the shelves of the bookseller, the propriety 
of sending forth one possessing so little thoroughness 
as this, may be questioned; but the very thoroughness 
of most of the works which have been written on this 
subject, renders them in a measure unsuitable for the 
common reader. They are all important to the stu- 
dent ; but the author does not write for students. 
Most of these works present such a mass of matter, 
that the common mind cannot grasp it, and see at one 
view the force of the evidence presented; or else they 
are so much epitomized as to be unreadable. The 
object of the writer has been, in the following pages, 
so to classify and condense the evidence, that the 
whole force of each particular kind might be seen at 
one view. He is aware that the number o^ his pillars 
might have been multiplied; for there are several of 
the points noticed under some of these divisions, 
which might each constitute an independent series of 



PREFACE. V 

proofs; but it might be doubted whether the edifice 
would be strengthened by it. The author has endea- 
vored, also, to render the work practical, so as to 
have it a book to be read as well as studied. 

As to the Types and Prophecies concerning the Mes- 
siah, — works on these subjects are not so common as 
those on Evidences ; and yet, they furnish an im- 
portant species of evidence. They are likewise rich 
in instruction upon the way of salvation; and there is 
great need of their being better understood, prepara- 
tory to the study of the New Testament. 

Those who study my " Scripture Questions, Vol. 
III., will find this volume better adapted to the " In- 
troductory Lessons," as a help, than any other one 
that I have seen. But I hope the schools will not 
confine themselves to this, but will obtain other 
books also. I have learned with pleasure that those 
*' Introductory Lessons" have been the occasion 
of calling forth a series of lectures on the sub- 
jects contained in them from many pastors. I hope 
the publication of this volume will not prevent other 
pastors from doing the same. I have by no means 
exhausted the subject; but have left vast treasures 
untouched. 

In collecting materials, I have not thought it neces- 
sary, in general, to quote the author specifically from 
whom facts have been gathered. I have had before 
me the following works, gleaning from one and 
another such parts as suited my purpose: — Home's 

A* 



vi PREFACE. 

Introduction; Paley^s, Wilson^ s, Mexander^s, Mcll- 
vaine^Sy and Chalmerses Evidences ; Beccher on Skepti- 
cism; Keith and Kett on the Prophecies ; Keith^s De- 
monstration of Truth; Reinhard^s Plan; McEwen on 
Types; the JVotes of the most approved Commenta- 
tors on the Bible; and several smaller works. 



CONTENTS, 



Page 

Preface, iii 

Introduction, I 



CHAPTER I. 

FIRST PILLAR. 

Necessity of Religion, Christianity the only true, . 5 

Atheism — iruits of, () 

Paganism — defined, 9 

Furnishes no suitable object of affection and worship, 9 

No pure code of morals, ...... 10 

Gives no rational account of the origin and future 

destiny of man, ....... 10 

Transcendentalism, 10 

Makes no satisfactory and certain provision for the 

pardon of sin, 11 

Islamism — its doctrines, 13 

A caricature of Christianity, 15 

Its defects — doctrine of rewards and punishments, . 15 

Does not satisfy the wants of the human soul, . 16 
Makes no provision for the expiation and pardon of 

sin, \Q 

Presents unworthy views of the world to come, . 16 

No provision for the renovation of human character, 17 

No piu'e code of morals, 17 

Deism or JVatural Religion, . . . . , 18 
Includes all who deny the grand essentials of Chris- 
tianity, 19 

Mr. Parker's ordination sermon, . , . . 19 

Deficient in making no provision for the pardon of sin, 20 

No provision for the reformation of sinners, . . 21 

Nothing to inspire devotion, 21 

No pure code of morals .... 23 



viii CONTENTS. 

Gives no satisfactory information as to the origin of 
all things, the obj(3Ct of man's existence, and his 

future destiny, .,•.,.. 25 

Christianity^ 27 

Jt gives a rational account of the origin of all things, 
of the object of man's existence, and of his rela- 
tions and duties to God, 27 

Furnishes a perfect code of morals, .... 28 

Accounts for tlie fact of man's present state, . . 29 

Makes provision for the pardon of sin, ... 29 

Makes provision for thorough reformation of character, 30 

Takes hold of the heart, and inspires devotion, 30 

Practical Remarks, ....... 33 

CHAPTER II. 

SECOND PILL All. 

External Evidence, . . . . . • . 40 

Inspiration defined, 40 

Unitarian views of inspiration, ..... 41 

Views of Transcendentalists similar, ... 42 

Orthodox views defended, 44 

Truth of the Scriptures inseparable from their ple- 
nary inspiration, 48 

The New Testament testifies to the inspiration of 

the Old, 49 

Quakers and Transcendentalists, .... 49 

Authenticity of the books of the New Testament, . 51 

Genuineness of existing copies, .... 60 

Their inspiration, 63 

Practical Remarks, . . . , . ... 73 

Bible to be received with submission, ... 73 

Obligation of all To believe and obey it, . .^ . 74 

Unbelief will not diminish obligation to obey, . 75 

A dreadfid doom awaits those who read or hear, and 

obey not, 76 

Obligation of gratitude for evidence of the truth of 

the Bible, 77 

CHAPTER III. 

THIRD PILLAR. 

Internal Evidence, 78 

General evidence apparent to the student of the Bible, 
showing it to be the production of a Supreme In- 
telligence, 78 



CONTENTS. 



IX 



What the Bible teaches concerning God, essential to 

the Supreme Being, 82 

The Scriptures reveal things which could not be 

otherwise known, 83 

They reveal truths above the conception of finite beings, 84 
They contain a rational account of the origin of all 

things, 86 

They account, in a rational and satisfactory manner, 

for the present character and condition of man, 86 
The Bible proved a revelation from God by the agree- 
ment of its parts, 88 

The writers of the Bible profess to speak by inspiration, 90 

The majesty of its style, 91 

Perfection of its code of morals, .... 91 

The account it gives of Christ, and his plan of salvation, 92 

Preservation of the Scriptures, evidence of their divinity, 97 

The Bible speaks to the heart and conscience, . 98 

Conclusion and summary of the argument, . . 99 

Why men do not believe — dislike of the truth, . 101 

Practical Remarks, J 03 

CHAPTER IV. 

FOURTH PILLAR. 



Evidence from the fulfilment of Prophecy ^ 
Preliminary remarks, .... 

Authenticity of the Penteteuch, 
Curses, after the fall, compared with facts, 
Predictions of Noah concerning his sons, 

Ishmael, 

Of Isaac concerning his sons. 
Concerning the children of Israel, 
Practical Remarks, 
Awful warning against apostacy. 



105 
105 
106 
106 
108 
109 
112 
112 
123 
123 



CHAPTER IV. 

Fourth Pillar — continued, 128 

Comparison of prophecies with accounts of travellers, 128 

Respecting Palestine, 129 

Concerning the Philistines, 133 

The Ammonites, 134 

The Edomites, . - 135 

Nineveh, 148 

Tyre, 149 



X CONTENTS. 

Babylon, 150^ 

Daniel's prophecy, ]55 

Destruction of Jerusalem, 166 

The seven churches of Asia, 170 

Peter's prophecy concerning scoffers and false teachers, 171^ 
Paul, concerning the judicial blindness of those who 

receive not the truth, . . ..... 179 

John, concerning apostacjes, 180 

Conclusion, . . . . . . . .180 

Practical Remarks, 

Instability and emptiness of human greatness, . 182 
Solemn warning to nations that forget God, . . 183 
Folly of those who think God too merciful to pun- 
ish sinners forever in hell, 183 

Certainty of the promises and threatenings of the Bible, 184 

CHAPTER V. 



Predictions concerning the Messiah, 

Introductory remarks, 

Intimation given immediately after the full, 
Promises to the patriarchs, .... 

Job's prediction of the RedeeiTier, 
Prophecies concerning the birth of Christ, 
Concerning the nation, tribe, or family, of whom 

Christ should come, 

Concerning the time of his coming, . 
Prediction of Moses to the children of Israel, » 
Concerning the Spirit of God resting on Christ, 
Correspondence of Christ's works with those predict- 
ed of the Messiah, . . . . . 
Prophecies concerning the ministry of Christ, . 
Concerning his conduct in regard to the applalise of 

men, 

Concerning his character as a sufferer. 
Concerning the character of his enemies. 
Concerning the treatment of him by the people. 
Concerning his trial and condenmation, 
Concerning his being delivered up to his enemies. 
Concerning the conduct of his disciples when he 
was arrested, ...... 

Concerning his conduct before Pilate, 
Concerning his treatinent on the cross. 
Concerning his resurrection and ascension. 
Concerning the object of his death, . 



186 

186 
188 
191 
192 
193 

195 
196 
204 
204 

207 
207 



209 
210 
212 
212 
213 
214 

215 
215 
215 
217 
219 



CONTEFTS. 



XI 



Practical Remarks. 

The fulfilment of these prophecies proves the^divine 

inspiration of both the Old and New Testaments, 
These predictions show that the great design of the 

Bible is to reveal Christ, 

The whole gospel, as understood by evangelical Chris- 
tians, revealed in the prophecy of Daniel, 
Stupidity of those who reject the gospel, 
No salvation for those who reject Christ, 
The kingdom of Christ will triumph over all opposition, 

Piety of Christ to be imitated, 

Christ an object of love, 



220 

220 

221 
2'.^3 
224 
224 
225 
229 



CHAPTER VI. 



On the Types, ........ 2S2 

Introductory remarks, ...... 232 

Definition of a type, . 233 

Adam, a type of Christ, . . . - . . 235 

Bloody sacrifices, ....... 237 

Noah's ark, ........ 242 

Practical Remarks, 243 

Great principle on which the scheme of the gospel 

is founded, 243 

True idea of Atonement, ...... 245 

No acceptable worship except through ChrivSt, . 246 
Forsaking all for Christ, illustrated by Abraham's 

example, 247 

Love of God, ........ 248 

Exhortation to sinners, 249 



CHAPTER VII. 



Types — continued, 

Melchizedek, 

Isaac and Ishmael, 

Moses a type of Christ, 

Moses' vail. 

Redemption of the children of Israel from 

David a type of Christ, 

Burial and resin-rection of Christ, 

The leprosy and ceremony of cleansing, 

Practical Remarks, .... 

Why so many Christians live in slavish fear, 



Egypt, 



251 
251 
252 
253 
254 
255 
257 
257 
257 
258 
258 



xii CONTENTS. 

No salvation by Moses, 260 

Necessity of a Mediator, 261 

Why it is so difficult for tJie impenitent to under- 
stand tlie Gospel, 262 

The condition of sinners, 263 

Illustration of Christian experience, . . . . 266 

Nature and necessity of faith illustrated, . . . 269 

Dreadful nature of unbelief, 271 

Conclusion of the whole, 273 



APPENDIX. 

A. 

Facts showing the antiquity and authenticity of the 

Bible, 277 

Antiquity of the Old Testament, .... 277 
Genuineness of the Old Testament, . . . 278 
Facts corroborative of the Scripture narratives, . 279 
Agreement of profane history with the New Testa- 
ment, 291 

Testimonies of the adversaries of Christianity. . 294 

B 

Inspiration, . Ill ^97 



INTRODUCTION. 



1 Peter, hi. 15. 



Be ready always to give an answer to every one that asketh you 
a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear. 

The Christian religion is not a blind superstition, 
depending on the implicit faith of its adherents in cer- 
tain dogmas proposed by its teachers to be received 
on their authority; but every article of its faith is 
substantiated by the most unquestionable evidence. 
A good and substantial reason may be given for every 
truth which challenges the belief of men. Hence, the 
apostle exhorts the Christians of his day to be ready 
always to give a reason of the hope that was in them, 
that the religion they professed might commend itself 
to the reason and conscience, both of opposers and 
revilers, and also, of sincere inquirers after the truth. 
With them, this was an easy matter. They could 
say, *'Our hope is founded on the fact that Jesus 
Christ died on the cross to save us from our sins, and 
50se again for our justification; and that he hath as- 
1 



2 INTRODUCTION. 

cended up on high, and now sitteth on the right hand 
of God, to make intercession for us. These facts we 
have received from his apostles, who were eye-wit- 
nesses to these things; and they have attested the 
truth of what they say, by the miracles which they 
have wrought before our eyes. We have also expe- 
rienced, in our own souls, the saving power of the 
religion of Jesus." 

The obligation to be always ready to give a reason 
of the hope that is in us, is no less binding on us at 
the present day; though the evidence to establish the 
facts and doctrines on which we rely is more remote, 
and requires more effort on our part to understand it, 
so as to give a reason for our hope that will convince 
the inquirer and confound the gainsayer. 

It is proper, also, in this connection, to remark on 
the manner in which this reason of our hope is to be 
given. We are not to treat all inquiries and objec- 
tions superciliously, or with contempt; nor to settle 
the matter simply by saying ive know; but we are to 
render a good reason for our hope, and that in a good 
spirit — ** with meekness and fear." If we treat oppo- 
sers with harshness or contempt, they will be con- 
firmed in their unbelief, and say that we are conscious 
of the want of evidence, and therefore refuse to reason 
the matter. But, if we treat them kindly and answer 
them judiciously, we may lead them to investigate, 
and perhaps, by the spirit we manifest, prove the su- 
periority of our faith. 

The truth of Christianity is substantiated by at 
least four distinct and independent series of proofs; 
either of which is, by itself, sufficient to establish its 
authenticity and divine authority, in the view of any 
unprejudiced mind. These are contained in the fol- 



INTRODUCTION. 3 

lowing propositions, each of which I propose to prove 
by itself: 

I. Man needs, and must have, some sort of religion: 
Christianity is the only system that is adapted to the 
necessities of man's moral nature: therefore, Chris- 
tianity must be the only true religion. 

II. The authenticity of the Holy Scriptures, con- 
tained in the Old and New Testament, as a revelation 
from God, is clearly established by external evidence. 

III. The Bible contains, within itself, the most con- 
clusive evidence of its divine origin. 

IV. The Bible contains prophecies which have 
been fulfilled, and which are fulfilling; and the fulfil- 
ment of these prophecies demonstrates the fact of the 
divine inspiration of the Bible. 

These constitute so many Pillars, either of which 
would alone support the sacred edifice. And here is 
one of those sublime wonders which cluster around 
the Christian religion. Here is a building support- 
ed by four pillars, each independent of the other, 
and yet all standing so exactly in the centre, that, if 
either one, or all but one were taken away, the bal- 
ance would still be so exactly preserved, that there 
would be no shaking of the edifice nor sinking of the 
foundations. 



THE 



FOUR PILLARS, &c 



CHAPTER I. 



The First Pillar.— Jlfan needs and must have 
some sort of Religion : Christianity is the only 
System of Religion that is adapted to the JSTecessities 
of Man'^s Moral J^ature : therefore^ Christianity 
must be the only true Religion. 

There is, inherent in the nature of man^ a sense of 
moral obligation and accountability, which instinctive- 
ly calls for a knowledge of his origin, present relations 
and duties, and future destiny. The proof of this is 
found both in his own consciousness, and in the fact 
that there never was known to exist a nation or tribe 
that was wholly destitute of some form of religion. 
It has, indeed, been said, that some barbarous tribes 
have been discovered, that had no ideas of religion 
whatever ; but, a closer exaiiiination has proved the 
contrary; and that this opinion should have gained 



6 FRUITS OF 

credence with travellers is accounted for, by the fact 
that most barbarous tribes are very reserved and pri* 
vate about their sacred things. The existence of this 
principle in man is also proved from the fact that 
professed atheists have never been able to drive all 
ideas of religion from the minds of the common peo- 
ple, nor even from their own minds in the hour of 
peril. Such men have been known to fall on their 
knees, in a storm at sea, and cry out to the God 
whose existence they had denied, to save them ; and 
the death-bed of Voltaire, as well as other distinguish- 
ed men of this class, is said to have been a scene of 
remorse, despair, and indescribable horror. If we 
could conceive it possible to banish all religion from 
the earth, we could hardly form any conception of 
what would be the sate of things. There would be 
an entire removal of all restraint ; and universal an* 
archy, confusion, and bloodshed, would prevail, till 
the whole race of man would be extinct. The ex* 
periment was tried a short time in France ; and if it 
had been pursued much longer, it would have depopu- 
lated the nation. And this experiment was tried un- 
der every advantage of learning, philosophy, and re- 
finement. Says a distinguished writer, '^The Nation- 
al Assembly of France, in the commencement of the 
revolution, appointed a committee to inquire and re- 
port whether there were or ought to be a God ; and 
the committee reported that there could be no liberty 
on earth, while there was believed to be a God in 
heaven ; and that there is no God ; and that death is 
an eternal sleep. The assembly adopted the report, 
abolished the Sabbath, burnt the Bible, instituted the 



ATHEISM. 7 

'decade^ or week of ten days, and ordained the wor- 
ship of the goddess of Liberty, in the person of a 
vile woman. But, the consequences were too terri- 
ble to be endured : it converted the most polished 
nation of Europe into a nation of fiends and furies, and 
the theatre of voluptuous refinement into a stall of 
blood." "What is it to kill a man?" said one of 
these atheistic philosophers, while the work of death 
was going on, and the blood was flowing from the 
guillotine as from an inexhaustible fountain. "Only 
to change the direction of a few ounces of blood ; and 
so in the progress of the revolution which they con- 
trived and let out upon the world, they changed in 
about five millions of instances, a few ounces of 
blood. "=^ "Atheism," says another, "has no bond 
of union for its professors ; no basis of mutual confi- 
dence. It breeds suspicion, and consequently hatred, 
in every breast ; and it is actuated by a selfishness 
which utterly disregards all the bonds of nature, of 
gratitude, and of friendship. To an atheist, fear be- 
comes the ruling passion. Conscious of his own 
want of virtue, honor^, and humanity, he naturally 
views his fellows in the same light, and is ready to 
put them out of the w^ay as soon as they appear, in 
any degree, to become obstacles to the accomplish- 
cnent of his plans. Hence, tho bloody actors in this 
tragedy, after glutting their revenge by shedding the 
'blood of innocent Christians, turned their murderous 
weapons against each other." "Between atheism 
and superstition there is this great difference, that 

* Dr. Beecher's Lectures on Skepticism, pp, 80, 83. 



8 ATHEISM. 

while the latter sanctions some crimes, the former 
opens the flood-gates to all. The one restrains par- 
tiality, the other removes all restraint from vice. — - 
Every kind of religion presents some terrors to evil 
doers ; atheism promises complete impunity, and 
stamps virtue itself with the character of folly. "^ 

During the reign of terror in France, when no one 
was secure of his head for a single hour, it is said that 
a company of the nobility were sitting together in 
trembling and breathless anxiety, not knowing the 
moment when they might be summoned to the guillo- 
tine ; — an accomplished lady, who had been drawn 
into the prevailing atheism by a gentleman present, 
approached him, and broke the sombre silence that 
pervaded the assembly, with these emphatic words, 
Monsieur,— GIVE ME BACK MY GOD !" 

All the various forms of religion existing now, or 
that have existed in the world, are comprised under 
four denominations, namely. Paganism^ JMohamme^ 
danism^ Deism^ and Christianity, I do not reckon 
Judaism among these, because in its original form it 
is a part of the true religion, and identified with Chris- 
tianity. And so, if we enter into a minttte examina- 
tion of all minor sects, we shall see that they will all 
find their place, in classification among these four. 

We will now enter upon a brief examination of 
these systems, in order to see how far they severally 
furnish what is required by the necessities of man's 
moral nature. And, 

I. As to Paganism, It may seem strange that a 

♦ Alexander's Evidences, pp. 24 j 26. 



PAGANISM. 9 

snoment should be spent upon the inquiry, whether 
this is such a reh'gion as we need ; yet, there are 
those among us, who maintain that it is good enough 
for the heathen, and that there is no need of sending 
them the gospel ; but, if it is good enough for them, 
It is good enough for us. 

Paganism comprises all the forms of idolatry which 
prevail, or which have prevailed among the heathen. 
It would be impossible, in this place, to enter into an 
extended description of what is included under this 
term. Perhaps, however, we cannot form a better 
idea of Paganism, than by considering its objects 
of worship. These are innumerable, including good 
and evil spirits; the sun, moon, and stars; the 
earth, the air, the ocean ; thunder and lightning ; me- 
teors ; minerals ; stones ; iron ; silver ; gold ; plants ; 
leeks; onions; trees and forests; wheat and corn; 
fishes; insects; reptiles; birds; four-footed beasts, 
as the bull-dog, cat, w^olf, baboon, lion, crocodile, 
hog, rats, mice, porcupine ; departed heroes ; as 
well as all the faculties and passions of men ; and 
ijniversal nature. In the modern Paganism of the 
East, the number of gods adored amounts to many 
millions. 

It will be seen at once that the religious principle, 
of which wje have spoken as being inherent in the 
soul of man, can find no scc^e for its exercise, when 
«uch are the objects of adoration. There is nothing 
in them worthy of love or devout admiration — nothing 
to excite pious feeling — nothing to inspire confidence. 
On the contrary, many of them are objects of con- 
tempi ; and where any moral character has been attri- 



10 PAGANISM. 

buted to their gods, it has been of the most hateful 
and disgusting description. There is, therefore, in 
Paganism no one supreme object on which the soul 
of man can fix, as an object of delightful contempla- 
tion, complacent desire, and devout affection. 

Another grand defect of heathenism is, that it fur- 
nishes no pure code of morals. It cannot be ex- 
pected that their code of morals will be any better 
than that of their gods ; and hence we find that the 
practical fruits of Paganism have always corresponded 
to the description given in the first chapter of Romans. 

Still another defect, and which shows most con- 
clusively, its failure to meet the moral necessities of 
man, is, that it gives no rational account of the origin 
of his being, or his future destiny. The great ma- 
jority of Pagan nations believe in the transmigration 
of souls ; or the passage of souls at death from one 
body to another. Hence, all is dark concerning the 
past, and a painful uncertainty hangs over the future. 
The Pagan has no idea of his origin immediately from 
the hand of a beneficent Creator ; and for aught he 
know^s, his soul may have inhabited the body of a 
swine or a reptile ; and then, as to the rewards of the 
righteous, and the hopes of heaven, in comparison 
with the prospects of the wricked, it is only the privi- 
lege, perhaps, of entering the body of a horse or some 
other noble animal, in preference to a mouse or a 
reptile. Others are left by their rehgion entirely in 
doubt as to the immortality of the soul ; and others 
still, have no prospect set before them, but that of an- 
nihilation, or of absorption into the essence of the 
Deity ; an idea, however, which seems to be reviv- 



TRANSCENDENTALISM. 1 1 

ing among us, under the form of transcendentalism ; 
though I do not presume to speak with confidence 
on this subject, for I confess that I am unable to un- 
derstand the views of this school. They are too 
subtile, aerial, and mystical for my apprehension, and 
therefore it would not be strange if I should misappre- 
hend them. But if, as I understand them to say, the 
soul of man is essentially a part of God, w^hen it leaves 
the body it must return again to the divine essence, 
lose its separate existence, and be precisely what it 
was before it existed in the human body; so that we 
are likely, for aught I see, to have a sect of Hindoos 
among ourselves. 

But, another defect in Pagan systems of religion is, 
that they make no such certain provision for the par- 
don of sin, as to give relief to the conscience burdened 
with guilt. For the knowledge of human depravity, 
and a sense of sin, are almost universal with the hea- 
then. They also feel the necessity of some sort of 
satisfaction being rendered to their gods for sin. But, 
their views of the kind of expiation that will be ac- 
ceptable to the Deity are very vague and indefinite. 
They have some notion, however, that the victim 
sacrificed must bear some proportion in value to the 
person sinning ; and hence the origin of human sacri- 
fices, which have prevailed, to a greater or less ex- 
tent, perhaps, among all heathen nations. Self-in- 
flicted tortures, also of every variety and form, are 
resorted to for the same purpose ; and yet there re- 
mains a painful uncertainty whether any of these will 
procure the pardon of their sins. An affecting illus- 
tration of the failure of all the expedients and rites of 



12 A DEVOTEE. 

Paganism, to satisfy the demands of a guilty con- 
science, is found in a fact related by the missionary 
Swartz: — ^'A man on the Malabar coast had inquired 
of various devotees and priests how he might make 
atonement for his sins ; and he was directed to drive 
iron spikes, somewhat blunted, through his sandals, 
and on them to place his naked feet, and walk to a 
certain place, a distance of nearly five hundred miles. 
If, through loss of blood, or weakness of body, he was 
unable to proceed, he was obliged to wait for heahng 
and strength. He undertook the jpurney ; and while 
he halted under a large shade tree, where the gospel 
was sometimes preached, one of the missionaries came 
and preached in his hearing from these words : '' The 
blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." While 
he was preaching, the man rose up, threw off his tor- 
turing sandals, and cried out aloud, '' This is what I 
want ;^^ and he became a hving witness of the truth of 
that passage of scripture, and also of the insufficiency 
of heathenism to administer to the moral necessities of 
the soul that is panting after immortality. 

Another case, no less affecting, occurred on the 
coast of Africa. An English sailor,, in conversation 
with one of the natives, found him troubled^ on account 
of his sins, and told him that he must go to the 
^^Christian's God, who paid the debt." This was 
all, however, which the sailor could tell him. He 
had heard of Christ as being our surety ; and that was 
all which he knew. But this seemed to be the very 
thing of which the man felt his perishing need. It 
took full possessiorf of his soul. He went on board 
the ship, and wrought his passage to England. There^ 



MOHAMMEDISM. 13 

in one of the large towns, I believe either in London 
or Liverpool, he went about the streets, inquiring of 
every one he met, for the '^Christian's God, who 
paid the debt." But the people thought him crazy. 
However, at length he met with a clergyman, who was 
struck and interested with his inquiry, and took him 
home, heard his story, and instructed him more per- 
fectly in the way of life ; and no sooner did he learn 
the way of salvation through a crucified Redeemer, 
than he most heartily and cordially embraced it. Such 
facts as these most forcibly illustrate the great truth, 
that there is, in the breast of a sinner, a conscious 
need of some form of expiation for sin, that shall sat- 
isfy divine justice, and restore him to the favor of 
God. Paganism is the religion of more than five 
hundred millions of our race. 

11. The system of religion which next claims our 
attention, is Mohammedism, so called from Moham- 
med or Mahomet, its founder. This is in some 
respects superior to Paganism, because it contains 
some proportion of truth ; but it is a strange com- 
mingling of truth with the most monstrous absur- 
dities. It may be instructive to dwell a few moments 
on its doctrines ; and this indeed is necessary to our 
inquiry, whether it is adapted to the moral necessities 
of man. The Mohammedans have correct ideas of 
the nature and attributes of God, but reject the doc- 
trine of the Trinity. They abhor idolatry, but place 
Mohammed, their prophet, next to God. Their ideas 
of creation, also, agree with the Scripture account, 
from which they were doubtless derived. They be- 
lieve that there are two recording angels in heaven. 



14 MOHAMMEDISM, 

one standing on the right hand of God, and the other 
on the left, who keep account of all the actions of 
men, both good and bad ; that, at death, two angels 
will inquire of the departed spirit who was his Lord 
and Prophet ; that those who shall be able to saj that 
God was their only Lord, and Mohammed their 
prophet, will find a great light in their graves, and 
shall rest in glory ; but those who cannot so answer 
these questions, shall be kept in darkness till the day 
of judgment ; that, at the end of the world, after the 
last trumpet shaM kave sounded, all things will turn to 
nothing again, and God only shall remain in existence ; 
but afterwards, all creatures will be raised again to 
life, and gathered together for judgment ; that then^ 
God, accompanied by Mohammed, will judge all man- 
kind ; and that Mohammed will intercede for his fol- 
lowers. All the wo As of men, they say, will be 
weighed in scales, the good against the bad ; and then^ 
all will be permitted to take vengeance on those that 
have injured them ; and this will be done by taking 
away a portion of the good works of the one who has 
done an injury, and giving them to the injured party ; 
but if the good works are exhausted, a part of the 
sins of the injured will be placed to the account of 
the injurer. Those whose good works outweigh their 
bad, shall immediately enter into paradise ; while those 
whose bad actions outweigh their good, shall be cast 
into helL Those whose good and bad deeds are 
equal, shall remain in the middle, between paradise 
and hell, without enjoying happiness or enduring mis- 
ery ; but all of them who are Mohammedans shall be 
released from this confinement, af the second inter- 



MOHAMMEDISM. 15 

cession of Mohammed ; but the time they shall be 
confined there will not be less than 900 years, nor 
more than 7,000. The Mohammedan hell is corpo- 
real, and the description they give of the torments to 
be endured there, is too horrible to be repeated. Over 
this, they say there is placed a sharp bridge, as long 
as the world and as high in proportion, but not wider 
than a single thread of a spider's web ; and this over- 
hung on both sides with briers and thorns. Over this 
all mankind must pass. The good Mohammedans 
will pass swifter than lightning. But the wicked, and 
those who do not believe in Mohammed, will slip and 
fall headlong into hell-fire. Their ideas of heaven 
are, that it is a place of sensual pleasure. It is painted 
out in the most extravagant colors which imagina- 
tion could invent, but free from all the pain, distress 
and bitterness of soul, which follow the excessive in- 
dulgence of animal appetites and passions in this life. 
This is the religion of 120,000,000 of our race. 

It wil be at once perceived that this is but a cari- 
cature of Christianity, leaving out those doctrines and 
facts which are essential to the system, and retaining 
only such as could be metamorphosed to suit the pur- 
poses of the Impostor. 

This system fails to meet the moral necessities of 
man, in several important particulars : 

1. Its doctrine of rewards and punishments is 
founded on erroneous principles. It gives a mercan- 
tile character to the relations between man and his 
Creator ; as though we could bring God under obli- 
gation to us by our good works, while we become 
indebted to him by our evil deeds ; and thus set off 
ihe one against the other. Whereas God, by virtue 



16 DEFECTS OF 

of the claim he has upon us as our Creator, and as the 
Supreme Ruler of the universe, is justly entitled to 
perfect obedience from us ; and our disobedience, 
being a violation of our obligations to him in certain 
particulars, can never be cancelled by performing our 
obligations in other particulars. Having, therefore, 
once sinned, we could not expiate our sin by perfect 
obedience all the rest of our lives. But, 

2. If this doctrine were founded on correct prin- 
ciples, it would not satisfy, in this respect, the wants 
of the human soul. Who would be able to keep an 
exact account of all his actions, and weigh the good 
and bad in an even handed balance, so as to know 
what to calculate upon as his future destiny ? Hence 
the soul must always be under the most fearful appre- 
hensions as to the future ; for, though the intercessions 
of the prophet may avail at last to deliver the soul 
from hell, yet what ground of comfort or consolation 
is there in the idea of deliverance from hell, after suf- 
fering the most excruciating torments for nine hundred 
or seven thousand years ? Yet, it is to be admitted 
that this is as comforting a system as that of the Resto- 
rationists^ who rest their hopes of salvation on the 
prospect of the termination of a hmited period of 
future punishment. 

3. This system makes no provision for expiation, or 
the pardon of sin. Even the intercession of Mohammed 
does not avail for this ; but sin must be balanced by 
good works, or else punished in hell, even in the case of 
the faithful. So that, the great thing, the need of which 
the soul feels most intensely of all, is entirely absent 
from this system. 

4. It presents unworthy views of the world to 



MOHAMMEDISM, ^It 

^ome. What satisfactfen can the soul that is panting 
after immortality derive from the idea of a sensual par- 
adise ? All our ideas of wretchedness, and misery, 
and moral debasement, are connected with sensual in- 
dulgence. What, then, has tfee soul to expect from 
Mohammed's paradise ? 

5. There is no provision in this system for the re- 
novation of the human character. It admits that man 
is sinful, and yet makes no provision for regeneration. 
No change of character was required by its author, in 
those who embraced it, but only a change of profes- 
sion ; and from the character of its heaven, no change 
of character would need to be required of those who 
enter there. They may go tliere with the same pas- 
sions, the same desires, and the same dispositions 
which they have here ; and 'hence the idea of perfect 
happiness and freedom from pain and suffering, must 
be an illusion of the fancy ; for these are inseparable 
from the indulgence of the dispositions and propensi- 
ties of fallen humanity. 

6. Finally, Mohammedism is deficient in giving 
to man a pure code of morals. Its good works con- 
sist of formal prayers, alms, fasting, and pilgrimages ; 
while it encourages a sanguinary, revengeful spirit, and 
permits polygamy and slaveholding among the faithful. 
Its practical effects are opposed to all advancement in 
human society ; and the whole system is unfriendly to 
human liberty. Wherever it has prevailed, it has 
desolated the fairest portions of the earth, and brought 
the people under the iron hand of despotism. It in- 
terposes an effectual barrier against all improvement. 

A striking illustration of this is found in the conduct 

2# 



18 DEISM. 

of the successor of Mohammed in the conquest of 
Egypt. Coming to the great library of Alexandria, 
where all the learning of antiquity was deposited, it 
became a question what should be done with it. The 
caHph settled the maiter with this summary reason : 
'' If the books are contrary to the Koran, they ought 
to be destroyed ; or if not, they are unnecessary, for 
the Koran is sufficient — let them be burnt." And, to 
give some idea of the sacrifice that was made to this 
barbarous spirit, it is sufficient to say that the manu* 
scripts served for fuel to heat the public baths for six 
months. Such has ever been the spirit of this reli* 
gion. And where it prevails, the ruins of civilized and 
cultivated society, which existed before them, remain ; 
but the people are at the same point of elevation, or^ 
rather, below the point where they were a thousand 
years ago. 

Ill* We now come to the system which is set up 
in enlightened, civilized lands, in opposition to Chris* 
tianity. This is denominated Deism^ or JSTatural 
Religion, Its leading doctrine, from which its name is 
derived, is a belief in a Supreme Intelligence. But^ 
among those who properly come under this denomi* 
nation, there are various shades of behef. They n>ay 
be classed as follows : 1 . Those who admit the exist- 
ence of a Supreme Being, but deny that he con*- 
cerns himself with the affairs of men ; 2. Those who 
admit not only the being, but the Providence of God ; 
but allow no difference between moral good and evil, 
and deny that God takes any notice of our moral con- 
duct ; 3. Such as believe in the natural attributes of 
God, and his all-governing Providence ; yet deny the 
immortality of the soul, or any future state ; 4. Such 



ftEISM. Id 

as admit the existence of God, his Providence, and 
the obligations of natural religion ; but so far only as 
these are discoverable by the light of nature, without 
any divine revelation ; and 5. To these maybe added 
Jail, who, though th6y admit that there is some truth in 
the Bible, yet deny that it is inspired in ^uch a sen s 
that its declarations can be relied upon as divine au- 
thority ; and hence, deny also those doctrines which 
are essential to the system of religion taught therein ; 
as the doctrine of human depravity, the Deity and 
atonement of Christ, the deity and office of the Holy 
Spirit, regeneration, and kindred doctrines. Though 
some who belong to this class may claim the Christian 
name, yet they have no title to it, and no right to ap- 
propriate it to thefiiselves, inasmuch as they deny all 
that is peculiar to Christianity. If any one supposes 
that I do them injustice by classing them with Deists, 
I will quote from a sermon preached at the ordination 
of one of their ministers, an explanation of what thig 
preacher considers the Christian creed. Speaking of 
Christianity, he says, ^' The only creed it lays down, 
is the great truth that springs up spontaneously in 
the holy heart— there is a God.^'^ If this be not 
a Deistical creed, I know not what can be called such. 
The very name of Deist is derived from this main ar- 
ticle of their creed, that " there is a God,'^'' This is, 
indeed, a true creed ; but it does not, by any means, 
teach all that is necessary for man to know. It does 
not teach even the very first principles of Christianity. 

* ** A Discourse on the Transient and Permanent in Christian- 
ity, &c., by Theodore Parker, Minister of the Second Church, 
Roxbury." 



20 DEFECTS OF 



DEFECTS OF DEISM. 

1. The grand defect of Deism is, that it makes no 
provision for the pardon of sin. It has no Saviour—^ 
no expiation for sin — no atonement. Indeed, it is not 
settled among its advocates, whether man is a sinner 
or not ; or whether he is accountable to any higher 
power. Some Deists admit that man is a sinner, and 
maintain that sin may be pardoned on repentance. 
But how did they make this discovery ? Without a 
revelation, I see not how it is possible for us to know 
whether God will pardon sin on any terms. Who is 
authorized to speak for him ? Which of his works 
teaches us that he will pardon sin ? Do we learn it 
from any of the natural laws of the universe, which he 
has established ? Which of these laws have we 
known to be suspended for the convenience of man ? 
If the stone begins to roll down the precipice, will it 
stop or turn aside because a man is below ? Does 
God hold up his rain because one man's harvest is 
exposed ? Will he call back his thunderbolt because 
a man is in its way ? The most natural conclusion to 
be drawn from what we can see of GodVworks, and 
of his providential government, is, that he loill not 
pardon sin ; and this agrees with all our ideas of jus- 
tice. Our sense of justice is injured when we see a 
notorious criminal escape the punishment of the law, 
and left at large to prey upon society ; and what 
knowledge carl we derive from nature to show that 
retributive justice is not also essential to the divine 
government ? I think it is clear, then, that the fact 
that God will pardon sin, and the way in which he 



DEISM. 21 

will pardon it, are what we can know in no other way, 
than by a revelation from God himself. It appears, 
then, that Deism, in all its forms, is deficient in the 
grand point which of all others it is most necessary for 
man to know. 

2. Deism is not only deficient in not making pro- 
vision for the pardon of sin, but also, in not making 
provision for the reformation of sinners. It has no 
motives to present for repentance beyond those which 
should have operated to restrain and prevent sin. It 
makes no provision for regeneration, nor for divine 
aid in reformation. 

3. There is nothing in the system to take hold of 
the religious principle in man, and inspire devotion. 
It views God at a distance, as not taking interest 
enough in man to reveal himself, and make known his 
will to him. It does not present him as a near object 
of affection ; and furnishes no proof that he is pleased 
with our acts of homage and devotion. The most 
natural conclusion to the mind of a sinner would be, 
that God views him with abhorrence, and that his 
devotions will only provoke the divine indignation. 
Deism proves nothing to the contrary ; nor can the 
placability of God, and his delight in the homage of 
his fallen creatures be known, except by a revelation 
from himself. After the experiment with Atheism 
had failed in France, another experiment was tried 
with pure Deism. A society was formed, called 
TheophilanthropistSj or lovers of God and man^ for the 
worship of God upon the pure principles of natural 
religion. It was patronized by distinguished men, and 
enjoyed the favor of government ; and permission was 



22 DEFECTS OF 

given for them to use the churches, of which they had 
eighteen or twenty in Paris alone. Their creed was 
simple, consisting of two articles, the existence of 
God, and the immortality of the soul ; and their moral 
system embraced two great principles, love to God 
and love to man ; which, however, must have been 
borrowed from Christianity. Their w^orship consisted 
of prayers and hymns of praise, and they had a man- 
ual of worship and a liturgy. Music, vocal and 
instrumental, were employed. Lectures also were 
delivered. '' Great efforts were made to have this 
worship generally introduced throughout France ; and 
the views of the society even extended to foreign 
countries. Their manual was sent into all parts of the 
country by the minister of the interior free of expense. 
Never did a society enjoy greater advantages at its 
commencement." But it entirely failed to take hold 
upon the mass of the people. At first, large audiences 
attended ; but they w^ere mostly spectators ; and after 
the novelty w^as over, they dwindled away, so that, 
instead of filling twenty churches, they occupied but 
four ; and, in a little while, being prohibited the use 
of the churches, the society became extinct. '' The 
chief reason of this was the want of a devotional spirit. 
There was nothing to interest the feelings of the heart. 
Their orators might be men of learning, and thfy 
might produce good moral discourses, but they were 
not men of piety, and not always men of pure morals. 
Their hymns were said to be well composed, and 
their music good ; but their musicians were hired from 
the theatre. They found it impossible to raise, in 
some of their societies, a sum which any Christian 



DEISM. 23 

congregation, even the poorest, would have collected 
in a single day. One of their societies petitioned 
government to grant them relief from a debt of not 
more than forty dollars, stating that their annual in- 
come did not exceed twenty dollars."^ There were 
other difficulties which they encountered, but these 
are sufficient to show that there is nothing in Deism 
to take hold of the heart, and secure an interest in 
public worship. The same thing is now going on in 
those congregations among us, which have rejected 
the essential and saving truths of the gospel, and set- 
tled down upon a cold system of refined Deism. A 
few of the older people attend from the habits which 
were formed under a different system ; but it has 
little power over the young ; and many, even of the 
older people, have ceased their attendance, and become 
habitual neglecters of public worship ; so that the con- 
gregations are fast dwindling away, and will soon follow 
the example of their brethren, the Theophilanthropists 
of France. And probably this event will be greatly 
accelerated, when the funds collected by our Puritan 
fathers for the support of a pure gospel shall have 
been exhausted. 

4. Another defect in this system is, that it does not 
furnish a pure code of morals, and therefore fails to 
secure even a good moral character in its ablest advo- 
cates. Among those who profess to adopt the system 
of natural religion, there is a very great diversity of 
sentiment as to what is right, and what is wrong, some 
even maintaining that there is no difference between 
right <ind wrong, except so far as custom and the opin- 

* Alexander's Evidences, pp. 36 — 39. 



24 DEFECfS OF 

ions of men are concerned ; and others making it all 
consist in sincerity of purpose, whatever may be the 
character of the action. Besides this, the system falls 
to provide adequate motives for doing right, or sanc- 
tions and penalties against wrong doing. It need not 
surprise us, then, to learn, that it has not secured a 
good moral character even to its ablest advocates. 
Lord Bolingbroke resolves all morality into self-love 
as its first principle and final centre. In the details of 
his morahty, he is equally lax ; and his bad temper 
and dissipated habits but too unhappily confirmed the 
bad tendency of his principles. When Thomas Paine 
had completed the first part of his Age of Reason, he 
submitted it to Dr. Franklin before its publication. 
The Doctor advised him nat to publish it, on the 
ground of the bad moral tendency of the doctrines 
it inculcated ; assuring the author that, though it might 
have no bad effect upon his own morals, supposing 
his philosophy might be a safeguard against it, yet, 
that it would be dangerous to the morals of the common 
people. Dr. Franklin was an acute observer of men 
and things, and he knew how to calculate the results 
of causes. The sequel has more than proved the cor- 
rectness of his opinion ; for not only have Deistical 
principles proved most disastrous to the morals of the 
people who have embraced them, but the great philos- 
opher himself, whom Franklin supposed to be proof 
against his own principles, fell a deplorable victim to 
their influence ; himself a dreadful witness against the 
influence of his doctrines. " He had written the first 
part of his Age of Reason, and committed it for ptibli- 
cation to Joel Barlow, in this country. The second 



DEISM. 25 

part was published in 1795, after he had been an actor 
in the early scenes of the French revolution. At this 
time, he was habitually drunk. He returned to Amer- 
ica in October, 1802, bringing with him as a compan- 
ion the wife of a French bookseller, having separated 
from his second wife. He died at New York, in 
1809, in contempt and misery. His disgusting vices, 
his intemperance and profligacy, made him an outcast 
from all respectable society. He is represented as 
irritable, vain, cowardly, filthy, envious, malignant, 
dishonest, and drunken " — a personification of his own 
principles. Yet, we are left to infer, from the lan- 
guage of Frankhn, in giving his advice, that, when he 
first began to propagate his Deistical sentiments, he 
was a man of good moral character. Nor need we go 
far to find examples of similar degeneracy of morals, 
from the same cause. 

5. Once more, — Deism gives no satisfactory inform- 
ation as to the origin of all things, the object of man's 
existence, or his future destiny. Nothing can be cer 
tainly known, in regard to these most important mat- 
ters, except by a revelation from heaven ; and such a 
revelation Deism rejects. All is therefore left as 
matter of conjecture and painful uncertainty. The 
human soul instinctively craves this knowledge ; and 
it is reasonable to suppose that a beneficent Creator, 
having given this desire, as part and parcel of our being, 
would not leave it to prey upon itself, but would sat- 
isfy it with the knowledge it craves ; especially as this 
knowledge is essential to an understanding of our duty 
to Him. The painful uncertainty of which I have 
spoken was felt by the ancient philosophers, who had 
3 



26 DEISM. 

rejected the heathen mythology, and yet were destitute 
of a revelation, being left to the guidance of natural 
religion. Cicero, in arguing in favor of the immortality 
of the soul^ says be speaks not '^in the character of 
the Pythian Apollo, that all he says shall pass for cer- 
tain and established ; but as a man from the probable 
many pursuing probabihties by conjecture. For I 
have," continues he, '' no means of passing beyond 
what may have the resemblance of truth." And, in 
regard to the condition of the soul after death, he says, 
'' There are, who think no departure takes place, but 
that the soul and body fall together, and the soul is 
extinguished with the body. Of those who think the 
soul to depart, some think it dissipated immediately ; 
others, to remain a long time ; others, forever. 
Moreover, as to what the soul itself is, or where or 
whence, there is great variety of opinions." After 
discussing a number of the prevailing opinions on the 
subject, he says, '^ The opinions of the rest afford a 
hope that souls, when they have left the body, may 
arrive in heaven as their proper home ;" and he makes 
his auditor say, '' I wish it fact ; and then, if it be 
not, yet I wish to he made to believe it. "^"^ And, in 
regard to Plato's reasoning, in favor of the soul's im- 
mortality, '^ I know not how, while I read, I assent ; 
when I lay the book down, and begin to reflect with 
myself upon the souPs immortality, all that assent 
slides away." Such is the painful uncertainty of the 
human mind in regard both to its own nature and 
origin, and to every thing future, when destitute of a 
divine revelation on which it may depend for certainty, 
in endeavoring to ascertain the truth. This Deism^ 



CHRISTIANITY. 27 

or natural religion, does not furnish ; but leaves the 
mind a prey to these distressing uncertainties. 

We have now examined three of the four systems 
of religion which prevail among mankind ; and it ap- 
pears, if we admit all that they claim, they entirely 
fail of meeting the moral necessities of man. It now 
only remains to examine Christianity in the same light ; 
and to inquire, whether, admitting what it claims to be, 
it provides for the necessities of man's moral nature. 
We have seen that Atheism will not do for us. We 
must have some religion. We have examined Pa- 
ganism, Mohammedism, and Deism, and find them 
all insufficient to meet the cravings of an immortal 
mind, and the necessities of dependent beings in a 
state of probation. And now, if Christianity fails us, 
what shall we do ? We shall, indeed, be in a pitiable 
condition. But I shall undertake to show that Chris- 
tianity does entirely and perfectly meet the moral ne- 
cessities of man. And, 

1. It gives a rational account of the origin of all 
things ; of the object of man's existence ; of his rela- 
tions and duty to God ; and of his future destiny ; 
and this, on the authority of a revelation from the only 
Being who could impart this information. This last 
point, however, I am not about, in this place, to 
prove ; for as we have done with the other systems, 
we are now to judge of the adaptedness of Christianity 
to meet the moral necessities of man, by what it pro- 
fesses to be. 

What could be more sublime and worthy the cre- 
dence of man, than the account which the Bible gives 



28 CHRISTIANITY. 

of the origin of all things ? " In the beginning, God 
created the heavens and the earth !" This, surely, 
must, if believed, satisfy the desires of the human 
soul ; and v^^hy should we not believe it ? And, then, 
what more worthy object of man's existence can be 
imagined, than what is taught in the Bible : that God 
created him to manifest forth his glory, and to impart 
enjoyment to him — the enjoyment of numberless ben- 
efits m this world, and a participation in his own glory 
in the world to come. And what more satisfactory 
account could be given of the relations of man to God, 
than that he is entirely dependent for all things upon 
the Being who brought him into existence ? or, of his 
duty to God, than that he is bound to love him su- 
premely, with all his heart, and mind, and strength, 
and above all other objects ? And, what more worthy 
of God, as to his future destiny, than that, originally 
continuing in the state of holiness, he was to enjoy an 
eternal state of spiritual blessedness, in communion 
with God, and in the society of holy beings ; and that, 
having sinned, a provision has been made, by an act 
of free grace, for his experiencing a renovation of na- 
ture, and being reinstated in the favor of-God ; or, as 
a punishment for disobedience and impenitence, to be 
forever banished from his presence, and shut out from 
the enjoyment of his favor ? Is not information like 
this worthy of a revelation from God ? And does it 
not satisfy the cravings of immortal desire in the hu- 
man soul ? 

2. The religion of the Bible furnishes a perfect 
code of morals, with adequate motives and sanctions. 
In the ten commandments, every thing wrong is for 



CHRISTIANITY, 29 

bidden, and every thing that ought to be done is 
required. This is brought into a very small compass, 
by a classification of offences and duties, and forbid- 
ding or requiring the highest of each class. A close 
examination of them, in this light, will show that there 
is not the slightest defect in them ; and that perfect 
obedience to them would secure a perfect state of 
society, like that which exists in heaven. The same 
may be said, also, of the two great moral principles 
laid down by our Saviour, requiring supreme love to 
our Creator, and equal love to our fellow men. And 
these moral duties are provided with adequate sanc- 
tions and motives. Eternal death is threatened as the 
punishment of disobedience, and eternal life is pro- 
mised to obedience ; and then, to meet the case of 
the penitent transgressor, the law of love, and the 
promise of pardon, are brought in to take hold of his 
heart, and reform his character and life. Is not here 
a perfect code of morals, adapted to the case of man ? 

3. Christianity, or the religion of the Bible, explains 
how man came to be in the wretched, fallen condition 
in which he finds himself. It carries him back to his 
primeval state, when he came pure and holy from the 
hand of his Maker ; and traces back his depravity to 
the first act of disobedience, and shows his relations 
to the head of his race, as necessary to the social state, 
by which all mankind became involved in the conse- 
quences of his transgression. This is what no other 
system does ; and it is what could not be learned but 
by a direct revelation from God himself. 

4. It makes adequate provision for the pardon of 
sin, and the restoration of the penitent .sinner to the 

5* 



30 OltRISTIANlTY. 

favor of God. And this it does in a way which corti* 
mends itself to the human understanding and hearty 
and relieves entirely the difficulty arising from the 
apparent collision of the attributes of justice and mercy* 
It provides a full and sufficient expiation for sin, in the 
sufferings and death of the Son of God, substituted for 
the sinner ; and it makes this available to all mankind, 
Upon the simple and easy terms of repentance and 
faith. And, when received, it satisfies the burdened 
conscience, and gives peace to the troubled soul. 
This is peculiar to the Christian system. Other sys- 
tems have, indeed, their modes of expiation, but their 
sacrifices are not of sufficient value for the redemption 
of the soul ; and they lack, also, the sanction of the 
word of God, to render it certain that they will be 
accepted of him. 

5. Christianity, also, makes provision fot a radical 
and thorough reformation of character. It furnishes 
the special divine influence upon the heart in regene- 
ration, changing the dispositions of the soul, and setting 
aright the springs of action. This is entirely peculiar 
to Christianity. Regeneration does not enter into the 
idea of any other system. It is even_ ridiculed by 
those who assume the name of Christians, while they 
deny its peculiar doctrines. But this is the secret of 
its transforming power. And this accounts for the 
wonderful changes it makes in the characters of men, 
often very suddenly. The gospel of Jesus Christ 
secures the accompanying influences of the Holy 
Spirit to render it efficacious upon the hearts of men. 

6. Christianity takes hold on the heart, and inspires 
a devotional spirit. Hence, when the gospel is 



CHUISTIANITY. 31 

^feached in its purity, it secures a regular attendance 
lipon public worship. The reasoii is, it is addressed 
to the heart. It is peculiarly a religion of the affec- 
tions. Though it deals much in doctrines, and dis- 
cusses and teaches strong truths, yet they are all such 
as come home to the business and bosoms of men— 
truths in which every man^ woman, and child has a 
direct personal interest. It is entirely unlike the cold 
speculations of philosophy or abstract morality. It 
appeals to the heart ; and it presents objects to the 
affections worthy of their highest exercise. It also 
wakes up intellect, and elevates the whole character of 
man. It likewise improves his social condition. By 
subduing evil passions, and cultivating the mild and 
tender affections, it softens, refines, and elevates the 
social character. To what other cause can be attri- 
buted the superior social condition of those countries 
where Christianity prevails, and that, just in proportion 
to its purity ? And I may add, also, of those towns, 
neighborhoods and families, where its transforming 
power is most deeply felt. What portions of the 
earth ever presented a population equal in their social 
condition to Scotland and New England ? And, 
where was ever a population so thoroughly under the 
influence of the Christian religion, as Scotland since 
the reformation, and New England in its early history ? 
And where was ever a people found of more energy 
and activity of intellect ? Why is it that the canvass 
of New England has whitened every sea, and her com- 
merce entered every port in the world ? And why is 
it, that the enterprize of her sons has reached every 
town and village in this land ? And why, that their 



32 CHRISTIANITY. 

ingenuity has given birth to those inventions by which 
the elements and all the powers of nature are made to 
contribute to the service of man ? I can answer these 
inquiries in no other way than by attributing these 
results to the impulse which Christianity has given to 
the intellectual powers of the population which has 
come under its influence. It wakes up thought ; it 
furnishes themes of contemplation ; it excites inquiry, 
and leads to investigation. And, the intellect thus 
aroused, will not confine itself simply to religious sub- 
jects ; nor will the influence be confined to those who 
have heartily and cordially embraced the religion of 
Christ, but the whole community will feel the impulse. 
There is nothing more striking in the contrast between 
Christian and heathen lands, than in this particular. 
The heathen are generally noted for their stupidity and 
dulness of intellect. But, when Christianity enters a 
heathen land, it wakes up intellect, and gives birth to 
learning and enterprize. But I cannot longer dwell 
on this part of the subject. 

The conclusion to which I arrive, from the consid- 
erations which have been presented, is, that Christianity 
is perfectly and exactly adapted to the condition and 
moral necessities of man ; and therefore^ that it must 
be of divine origin. We have seen that man has in- 
vented other systems, and that they have all failed of 
meeting these ends. When, therefore, we have dis- 
covered one which does exactly meet them, it is a 
reasonable conclusion that it is not of man, but of God. 
It is plain, also, that to devise and develope such a 
system is entirely beyond the power of man. None 
could know how so perfectly to adapt a system of 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 33 

religion to the nature, condition and wants of any be- 
ing, but He who created him. Besides, there is a 
perfection in Christianity, which appertains not to the 
works of imperfect men. It is complete in its plan, 
and perfect in its details. Who but God could pro- 
duce such a system '' 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

1 . I have doubtless had the testimony of those of 
rny readers who profess to have experienced the saving 
power of Christianity, to the truth of what I have 
written. Yet, have you thought of the conclusions 
which must follow from these premises ? If the fore- 
going reasonings and conclusions are correct, it must 
follow that Evangelical Protestant Christianity is the 
only religion which is adapted to the wants of mankind, 
and that it must prevail universally, or the world will 
never be raised from its present degraded condition. 
You believe, on the authority of God's word, that all 
mankind are to come under th^ influence of Christian- 
ity ; and that this is to be accomplished by the blessing 
of God upon the instrumentalities employed by the 
church ; and that this blessing is to. be bestowed in 
answer to prayer. Now, let us look this matter in the 
face, and see what we have to do. Including heathen, 
Mohammedans, Jews and Catholics, all of whom must 
be converted or lost, we have six or eight hundred 
millions who are yet to be evangelized — taught the 
true principles of the gospel, and led to embrace them. 
And who is to do it ? The number of nominal Pro- 



34 PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

testants in the world, is only about sixty or seventy mil- 
lions ; and of these, perhaps not more than ten or fifteen 
millions can be reckoned as truly converted. This 
brings us to the appalling conclusion that not more than 
one in sixty, eighty, or a hundred of the human race have 
at the present time, any well grounded hope of being 
saved. If this work were entirely of man, we might 
despair of the world ever being converted. But God 
is able to do it. And, such is the diffusive spirit of 
Christianity, that every one that is converted, becomes 
an instrument of converting others ; and thus, the 
more it extends, the more its power is increased, and 
that in an increasing ratio ; so that a little calculation 
will show that a general and continued outpouring of 
the Holy Spirit would soon accomplish the work. 
But this can never be done in our day, unless there is 
a mighty waking up among the people of God, both 
as to the employment of means, and as to prayer for 
the descent of the Holy Spirit. And, if we live on 
as we now do, at least sixty persons must perish, to 
every one of us, and that during our lives and through 
omr neglect. This we are forced to believe, in order 
to be consistent with our professions ; but, if we felt 
its force, I am persuaded we should make^ new con- 
secration, not only of ourselves, but of our time, tal- 
ents, and possessions to the Lord. What other object 
of pursuit in this world is worth naming in comparison 
with the conversion of the world to God ? And yet, 
how few are ^there, who do not put it the very lowest 
in the scale of their pursuits ? O that the Lord 
would pour out his Spirit upon us, and wake us up to 



PUACTICAL REMARKS. 35 

just views, and feelings, and action upon this momen- 
tous subject ! 

But this is not all. Let us come nearer home. 
The population of this country is about sixteen mil- 
lions. But of these, not more than about two millions, 
or, at the farthest, not more than two and a half mil- 
lions, even profess to have embraced the gospel that 
is made known and proclaimed to them continually. 
Six or eight persons to one in this highly favored 
country remain, according to the conclusions to which 
we are compelled to come, to be converted or lost. 
If we look around, can we find, on an average, more 
than one to six or eight, who even profess to have a 
hope of eternal life founded on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
with the renewing and sanctifying grace of the Holy- 
Spirit ? Yet, there are large tracts of country, in our 
new settlements, where a sermon is not heard for many 
weeks, and there is scarcely spiritual salt enough to 
preserve the population from moral putrefaction. If 
the result of individual and associated effort and prayer 
in our churches, continues to be what it now is, when 
will the case be improved ? And what will become 
of the six or eight yet unconverted, to the one that 
has hope } And what will become of the churches 
when their present members shall be called to their 
rest ? And then, where will their children be ? And 
what, in these circumstances, ought we to do ? *And 
what will my readers do ? Will they take these ques- 
tions to their closets, and, on their knees, ask the 
Lord to make known to them what they ought to do, 
and to give them strength to perform it ? One solemn 
conviction is fastened upon my mind by this subject, 



S6 PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

that, unless this land is blessed with revivals of religion 
more powerful, more extensive, and of longer contin- 
uance than any we have ever yet experienced, the 
great mass of the present generation, both in this land 
and the heathen world, must be lost. Nor do I see 
how to avoid a similar conclusion in regard to any 
particular place, where the church goes on, from year 
to year, without revivals, — that, unless the Spirit of 
God is poured out with greater power, and extent, and 
continuance, the same result must follow in regard to 
the greater part of those in the midst of whom we are 
living. And, I think the fact that the Spirit of God 
is not so poured out among us, ought to lead every one 
of us to inquire whether there may not be in us, indi- 
vidually and personally, some hindrance to this blessed 
work. The work of examination is an individual 
work. When the Jews put the leaven out of their 
houses, before the passover, every family searched 
their own house — no one felt himself responsible for 
the old leaven that might remain in the house of his 
neighbor y but he was bound to see that there was no 
leaven in his own house. So let us do each one for 
himself. 

2. Another class to whom this subject addresses 
itself, are the skeptical^ the doubting^ and the indiffer- 
ent. And, I would address you emphatically in the 
language of Joshua to the children of Israel : " How 
long halt ye between two opinions ?" And, in the 
-language of Elijah : "Choose ye this day whom ye 
will serve !" You have the alternatives presented 
before you — examine them, and make your choice ; 
and make it in view of eternal consequences. Here is 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 37 

Atheism^ which degrades you to a level with the brutes, 
and makes you the creature of a day, with no higher 
object than to eat, and drink, and die — will you choose 
this ? Here is Paganism^ with its gods many, and 
lords many — will you choose this, and daub your 
faces with ashes, and bow down to a senseless block, 
and call it your god ? Or, will you choose the reli- 
gion of the false prophet, and rest your hopes of a 
heaven of sensual delights upon the word of a man who 
proved the divine authority of his mission by the story 
that he rode one night upon an ass, in company with 
the angel Gabriel, from Mecca to Jerusalem, and from 
Jerusalem to the seventh heaven ? Or, will you take 
Deism, and content yourself, like the heathen philoso- 
pher, to float in a sea of doubt and uncertainty, from 
the probable many, pursuing probabilities by conjec- 
ture, having no means of passing beyond what may 
have the resemblance of truth ? Is this a pleasant 
path to walk in ? Does it give ease, and comfort, and 
delight to your soul, when you know not what may be 
beneath your feet — -whether an elysian paradise, or a 
burning volcano ? and but one thing is quite certain to 
you, and that is, that very soon the ground will open 
beneath your feet, and let you know, by experience, 
the best or the worst. Will you choose this ? For, 
let me solemnly advertise you, that there is nothing 
on which you can stand between this and the evangel- 
ical system of truth revealed in the Bible, embracing 
the doctrines of atonement, regeneration, and the eter- 
nal punishment of the wicked. No man in his senses 
can honestly and sincerely set down to the study of 
the Bible, as a book addressed to the common under- 
4 



38 PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

Standing of mankind, and find any other system of truth 
in it. And, I think I have shown that this system of 
truth is just what your soul needs. And now, again I 
solemnly put the question, — which will you choose ? 

3. Finally, — There is one class more whom I 
would seriously and tenderly address. I mean those 
who regularly and constantly sit under the sound of the 
gospel, and admit its truths, and yet never heartily and 
cordially embrace them — who acknowledge that the 
system of religion taught in the Bible is just what 
they need, and that they must perish without it, and 
yet never lay it seriously at heart, and settle their 
hopes upon this only sure foundation — but go on, with 
their eyes wide open, with the full prospect of perdi- 
tion before them. There is nothing more painful to 
the heart of a Christian who feels for the souls of men. 
We labor hard with the skeptical and unbelieving, 
hoping that, if we can but convince them of the truth 
of Christianity, they will certainly embrace it. In- 
deed, I seriously question, whether any one who has 
tried the experiment of floating in the sea of error and 
doubt, will ever be convinced of the truth of Chris- 
tianity, without embracing it. But here you are, 
seriously convinced that all the doctrines set forth in 
the Bible are true — perhaps you have never doubted 
them — ^you believe that you are a sinner in the sight of 
God — that you deserve to be sent to hell — that Christ 
died to save you from your sins — that he is now in- 
viting and entreating you to come to him — that you 
may come if you will — that you must be born again, 
or you can never see the kingdom of God — that a 
world of eternal joy and felicity, and a world of 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 39 

eternal wretchedness and misery are spread out 
before you, as the result of your action in reference 
to these truths — and yet, all this exerts no living power 
over you, but you live on from week to week, as 
though there were, in your view, no God, no heaven, 
no hell. And yet, you seem to pay serious attention 
to the word, and to be interested to know. the truth. 
I must say that I am astonished — amazed. And I am 
sure, if you could look up and behold a bright vision 
of angels looking down at the scene, the amazement 
they would express in their looks, and gestures, and 
language, would be indescribable ; for they know the 
meaning of eternity, and heaven, and hell. Yes ! and 
you, dear friends, will very soon know their solemn 
reality. May God give you to see and know your 
true interest, and to embrace the salvation offered in 
the gospel, that when you come to see and know the 
realities of eternity, they may be joyous and not 
grievous to your souls. O, defer not this momentous 
subject, but see to it now that your foundation rests 
on the Rock of Ages. 



40 INSPIRATION, 



CHAPTER II. 



The Second Pillar. — The Authenticity of the 
Holy Scriptures contained in the Old and JVew 
Testament^ as a Revelation from God^ is clearly 
established by External Evidence, 

PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 

1. It is necessary to define what we mean, when 
we say that the Scriptures are a Divine revelation ; 
because there are various views on this point, some of 
which make a revelation, after all, of very little conse- 
quence, because they are so loose as not to render it 
an infallible guide. 

It is not necessary that we should enter into an ex- 
amination of the various theories which have been ad- 
vanced concerning inspiration, by those who have 
received the Scriptures as containing an infallible 
revelation of God's will to man. They are worthy of 
a separate examination ; but, in this place, they would 
only tend to confusion, It is important, however, to 
understand clearly the difference between the views of 
inspiration entertained by Orthodox Christians, and 
those held by the rejecters of the fundamental doc- 



UNITARIAN VIEWS. 41 

trines of Christianity. This will explain the ease with 
which the latter are accustomed to dispose of many 
^truths plainly and clearly taught in the Holy Scrip- 
tures. Dr, Priestly, who was one of the Fathers of 
Unitarianism, '' denies that the Scriptures were writ- 
ten by a particular divine inspiration ; and asserts that 
the writers, though men of the greatest probity, were 
fallible, and have actually committed mistakes in their 
narratives and reasonings." And, in this sentiment, 
he has been followed by the mass of Unitarian writers.^ 

* The following quotations are made, as a specimen of what 
may be found in the works of accredited Unitarian writers : 

EUROPEAN UNITARIAN WRITERS. 

Priestly. — *« The writers of the books of Scripture were 
men, and therefore fallible." 

<< Like other historians, they were liable to mistakes^ with res- 
pect to things of small moment." 

*« Not that I consider the books of Scripture as inspired.^* 

** Paul often reasons inconclusively." 

<« As it is not pretended that there are any miracles adapted to 
prove that Christ made and supports the world, I do not see that 
we are under obligation to believe it merely because it was an 
opinion held by an apostle." 

Belsham. — ** The Scriptures are not themselves the word of 
<jrod, neither do they ever assume tliat title." 

Wa-kefield. — «« I believe, no more than Thomas Paine, that 
the sun and moon, either in the apparent or philosophical accepta- 
tion of the phrase, stood still at the command of Joshua." 

EvANsoN. — ** The Evangelical histories contain gross and 
irreconcileable contrad ictions. ' ' 

Improved Version of the New Testament ; pub- 
lished and recommended by American Unitarians, — ** The 
account of the miraculous conception of Jesus was probably the 

4# 



42 TRANSCENDENTAL VIEW^. 

The modern Transcendental views of inspiratioilj 
which have made so much noise of late, differ sub- 
stantially very little from those of Dr. Priestly, and 
other Unitarian writers, from his day to the present. 
I will quote from a recent publication of this new 
school,"^ that the reader may see how far they agree 
with those of Dr. Priestly, already mentioned. Speak- 
ing of the Books of the Old Testament, and the faith 
of Christians in their infallible inspiration, this writer 
says, — 

''But modern criticism is fast breaking to pieces 

fiction of some early Gentile convert, who hoped, by elevating the 
dignity of the founder, to abate the popular prejudice against the 
sect." 

AMERICAN WRITERS. 

Christian Examiner. — ** There was a time in the dark 
ages, when it Was maintained, we cannot say believed, for the 
proposition does not admit of being believed, that the whole Bible^ 
including the historical books of the Old Testament^ was a rev- 
elation." 

" His reasoning (the writer of Hebrews) cannot be regarded as 
of any force, by an intelligent reader of the present day." 

'* The words of Christ were reported from memory by the 
Evangelists, and not always with perfect accuracy." 

These are only a specimen of what may be found scattered 
through this work in a great variety of forms, as well as in other 
Unitarian works ; all of which go to show that the sentiments ex- 
pressed in the South Boston Ordination Sermon, concerning inspi- 
ration, are not a new developement of Unitarianism, but the same 
form that it had from the beginning ; with, perhaps, the difference 
hinted by the author himself, that he comes out with it openly 
before the people, while others may confine it to the study, 
and to learned discussions. 

* Mr. Parker's Ordination Sermon. 



INSPIRATION. 43 

this idol, which men have made out of the Scriptures. 
It has shown ..... that their authors, wise as they 
sometimes were, pious as we feel often their spirit to 
have been, had only that inspiration which is coinmon 
to other men^ equally pious and ivise ; that they were 
by no means infallible ; but were mistaken in facts 
and reasoning ; and uttered predictions which time 
has not fulfilled." " The history of opinions on the 
New Testament," he continues, " is quite similar. It 
has been assumed at the outset, it would seem with no 
sufficient reason, without the smallest pretence on its 
writers' part, that all of its authors were infalhbly and 
miraculously inspired, so that they could commit no 
error of doctrine or fact. Men have been bid to close 
their eyes at the obvious difference between Luke 
and John ; the serious disagreement between Paul and 
Peter." 

The writer goes on at considerable length in this 
strain, and even intitriates that Christ himself was mis^ 
taken in predicting his second coming. His ideas of 
revelation, if I understand him, are the same in regard 
to the truths of religion, as to the truths of science ; 
for he puts the sacred writers on a level with the dis-* 
coverers of the principles and facts of natural science. 

But such a revelation as this would be no revelation 
at all. It does not meet the moral necessities of man. 
It gives him no authority to which he can appeal as a 
standard of truth, and of right and wrong. It leaves 
him still upon the boundless ocean of conjecture, 
without oar or rudder, or any beacon to direct his 
course. It is not a whit better than that Deism or 
natural religion, which denies all revelation. But, a 



44 INSPIRATION. 

revelation, to meet the wants of man, must be a direct 
communication of the divine will, imparting a know- 
ledge of those facts and doctrines which it is necessary 
for us to know, which can be appealed to as of divine 
authority. Nothing else will satisfy the mind of man. 
It is reasonable to expect such a revelation from a 
beneficent being to his dependent creatures. And, 
though the writer last quoted says that " the current 
notions respecting the inspiration of the Bible have no 
foundation in the Bible itself;" and triumphantly asks, 
"which evangelist, which apostle of the New Testa- 
ment, what prophet or psalmist of the Old Testament, 
ever claims infallible authority for himself or for 
others ?" Yet, this is precisely what they claim for 
themselves and for each other ; and if they were hon- 
est men, and spoke the truth, it must follow that they 
were in such a sense inspired that God spake by 
them, so that what they wrote is the infalhble word of 
God. This will appear, 

(1.) From the direct assertions of the writers them- 
selves. Moses himself represents that God spake to 
him face to face, and communicated to him his will, 
Joshua asserts in the beginning of his book, that the 
Lord spake to him. Samuel gives an account of the 
manner in which the Lord first revealed himself to 
him, and represents that this was continued, so that 
the people resorted to him to hear the word of the 
Lord, David said, '' The Spirit of the Lord spake 
by me, and his word loas in my tongue,'''^ And every 
one of the prophetical books except Daniel, and that 
is partly historical, begins with the direct announce- 
ment of the inspiration of the author, and generally in 



INSPIRATION. 45 

this simple form, — the word of the Lord came to 
such a prophet ; thus professing not only to speak in 
the name of the Lord^ but to speak the words which 
came to him from God by direct inspiration. The 
same is true, also, of the New Testament. Though 
the writers of the gospel narratives nowhere expressly 
claim this inspiration ; yet it is implied in the promise 
of the Saviour, recorded by John, that, when the 
spirit of truth should come, he would guide them into 
all truth ; that he should teach them all things, and bring 
all things to their remembrance, whatsoever he had 
said unto them ;^ and Luke's narrative of the Acts of 
the Apostles gives a particular account of the descent 
of the Holy Spirit, and the inspiration/ of the apostles 
and though Mark and Luke were not apostles, yet we 
have no evidence that this inspiration was then confined 
to the twelve apostles ; and we know, moreover, that 
both these evangelists were the companions of inspired 
apostles, the one of Paul, and the other of Peter, 
under whose superintendence they must have prepared 
their narratives. Paul repeatedly declares the fact of 
his own inspiration. In his epistle to the Galatians, 
he says, respecting the gospel which he preached, ^' I 
neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but 
by the revelation of Jesus Christ." The same asser- 
tion he repeats in his epistle to the Ephesians ; and 
in his first epistle to the Corinthians, he declares that 
even the words of his gospel were dictated by the Holy 
Spirit — ''Which things," says he, ''also we speak, 
not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but 

* John 14 : 26 ; 16 : 13. 



46 INSPIRATION. 

which the Holy Ghost teachelh." How strange that, 
with all these declarations before him, any man should 
presume to assert that the sacred writers make no 
claim to infallible divine inspiration ! But, 

(2.) The sacred writers not only claim this for 
themselves, but for each other. The writer alluded 
to, again asks, ''Did Christ ever demand that men 
should assent to the doctrines of the Old Testament, 
credit its stories, and take its poems for histories }^^ 
To this it may be replied, that, in all his ministry, he 
assumes^ and takes for granted the fact of the divine 
inspiration of the Old Testament Scriptures. He 
appeals to them, and so do the evangeHsts, continually 
in this expressive form: ''It is written" — implying 
that what he referred to as being written was of un- 
questioned authority. He does not, indeed, assert 
their inspiration in so many words ; for that was unne- 
cessary, when the fact was not disputed. Again, he 
refers the Jews to their own Scriptures, as testifying 
of himself. No one can attentively and candidly ex- 
amine these frequent appeals of Christ to the Scrip- 
tures then existing, without the fullest conviction that 
he regarded them as the word of God. But there is 
one place in which he distinctly recognizes the several 
parts of the Old Testament Scriptures, thus showing 
that he regarded all the books then included in the 
Jewish canon, (which are the same as those now 
included in the Old Testament) as being of divine au- 
thority. After the resurrection, as recorded by Luke, 
he declares " that all things must be fulfilled which 
were written in the law of Moses^ and in the prophets^ 



INSPIRATION. 47 

and in the Psalms concerning me."^ Now, it is well 
known that the Jewish Scriptures were divided into 
three parts ; the first containing the five books of 
Moses ; the second, comprehending Joshua, Judges, 
Samuel, Kings, and Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and 
the twelve smaller prophets ; the third, comprehended 
the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Solomon's Song, Ruth, 
Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, 
Nehemiah, and the two books of Chronicles. This 
division was in use long before the time of Christ, and 
the 'Jews were in the habit of referring to the first, 
under the titles law and Moses ; the second was called 
the Prophets ; and the third David^ or the Psalms or 
holy writings. And to these several divisions our 
Saviour evidently alludes under the terms the law of 
MoseSj the Prophets^ and the Psalms ; thus giving his 
sanction to the received canon of the Jewish Scrip- 
tures. 

The apostles, also, in their epistles, constantly appeal 
to the Scriptures that were received and acknowledged 
by the Jews, as of divine authority. They also say, 
when referring to them, ''It is written;" they call 
them the word of God ; and Paul says expressly that 
they were given by inspiration of God ; and Peter de- 
clares that the prophecy came not, in old time, by the 
will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were 
moved by the Holy Ghost ;f thus indicating the man- 
ner in which this inspiration was given — by the Holy 
Ghost moving upon the minds of the writers, and di- 

* Luke 24 : 44. 

t 2 Timothy, 3 : 15, 16. 2 Peter, 1 : 19—21. 



48 INSPIRATION. 

recting them how and what to write. Peter hkewise 
recognizes the epistles of Paul as belonging to the 
sacred Scriptures, speaking of them in connection 
with the other Scriptures, showing that he regarded 
them of equal authority. "^ 

I have only quoted a small portion of the testi- 
monies to the Old Testament contained in the New, 
nor of the assumptions of divine inspiration on the part 
of the New Testament writers. If these are not suf- 
ficient to satisfy the mind of the reader, a personal 
examination cannot fail to do so. I should not have 
dwelt so long on this subject, but for the fact that it 
is a fundamental point, and one that is disputed ; the 
views which I have been combatting being openly 
advocated and preached among us by those who pro- 
fess to be Christian ministers — views which would 
destroy the foundation of our hopes, and leave us des- 
titute of any certain standard of faith and practice. 

The Scriptural idea of inspiration then, is, that the 
sacred writers were under such an influence of the 
Spirit of God, that what they wrote is truly and pro- 
perly the word of God, communicated to mankind 
through them. _^ 

2. My second preliminary remark is founded on 
the foregoing ; and it is this, — that the question of the 
truth of the Scriptures cannot be separated from that 
of their divine inspiration ; for, if they are not in- 
spired they cannot be true, because they profess to 
be inspired. The Scriptures contain the narrative of 
facts and the statement of doctrines, which the writers 

* 2 Peter, 3 : 15, 16. 



INSPIRATION. 49 

profess to have received by divine revelation ; and 
these facts and doctrines are of such a nature that they 
could not be mistaken concerning them* Therefore, 
if we prove that the writers were honest men, and 
entitled to credit for their veracity, we prove their 
inspiration. 

3. If we prove tlie authenticity and genuineness 
of the New Testament, we also prove the same con- 
cerning the Old ; as It has already been shown that 
the Inspiration of all the books of the Old Testament 
is established by the writers of the New. And this 
may be narrowed down still more ; for. If we prove 
the truth of Luke's gospel, we have this point conclu- 
sively estabhshed. It is true, however, that the books 
of the Old Testament are capable of being authentica- 
ted by separate and Independent evidence ; but the 
object in this place is, to narrow down and simplify 
the argument, so that its force may be more clearly 
seen. 

4. There are some sects who hold that inspiration 
is common to all men ; and that any one, by improving 
the light that is in him, may receive directly from God^ 
all the revelation that he needs. This Is the doctrine 
of the Quakers, and of some other sects ; and If I 
understand them. It Is the doctrine of the Transcend- 
entalists ; though, perhaps, in a modified form, with 
less of anything supernatural In their Ideas of inspira- 
tion. But this does not appear to be consonant with 
the plans of divine wisdom. It does not appear from 
the works of God, or from anything we know of his 
operations, that he ever makes a useless expenditure 
of energy or power. So obvious is this fact, that it 

5 



60 AUTHENTICITY OF 

has passed into a proverb — '' There is nothing made 
in vain." But, a particular revelation to every indi- 
vidual of the human race would be, if I may so speak, 
an extravagant expenditure of power, when one reve- 
lation, well authenticated, would answer equally as 
well. Yet one written revelation, well authenticated, 
is better than a particular revelation to every individual 
would be. This the apostle Peter intimates, when, 
after referring to the vision which he saw on the 
Mount of Transfiguration, he says, alluding to the 
written word, '' We have a more sure word of pro- 
phecy.'^ There never were so many false prophets 
and impostors as during the time when the revelation 
was given ; and if inspiration were continued, it would 
give advantage to Satan to deceive men with false 
visions, and for men to deceive one another with pre- 
tended prophecies ; while the mind of man would in 
a great measure he deprived of its freedom of action^ 
and motives for investigating the truth. 

The next inquiry is, — how a revelation from God 
could be authenticated, so as to commend itself to the 
people to whom it was immediately given. That God 
could so communicate information to tlie mind of a 
human being as to make it perfectly sure and certain 
to the individual himself that it was a divine revelation, 
cannot be doubted by any one who regards God as 
the Almighty Creator of man. But die word of the 
man to whom it was communicated might not be suf- 
ficient to satisfy the minds of others. It is necessary, 
therefore, that some visible sign should be given to 
prove his divine mission ; and that this should be given 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 5J 

in such a manner that there could be no mistake or 
possibihty of deception. 

5. But, after a revelation has been so given, in 
order to render it available, for the use of subsequent 
generations, it must come down to them accompa- 
nied by such proof of its genuineness and authenticity, 
as cannot be disputed. 

Having prepared the w^ay, by these preliminary 
observations, v^e v\^il] proceed to examine the evidence 
by which the several books of the New Testament 
are authenticated as a revelation from God ; bearing 
in mind, that if we prove that these books are true, 
they must be what they profess to be, a revelation from 
God ; and that, if they are a revelation from God, 
the books of the Old Testament are likewise. And, 
let me here also remark, that the difficulty lies not in 
the want of evidence, but in selecting from the mass 
of evidence that which may be condensed and brought 
before the mind of the reader, within a reasonable 
compass. 

I. The first question to be determined is, — ^how 
do we know that the several books of the New Testa- 
ment were written by the persons whose names they 
bear ; and that these persons lived in the age attributed 
to them, and were the disciples of Christ ? This will 
appear, 

1. From the impossibility of their having been 
forged, and imposed as authentic, either upon the age 
in which they profess to have been written, or upon 
any subsequent age. Would it be possible now for 
any person to forge and palm off upon this community, 



52 AUTHENTICITY OF 

a book bearing the name of John Quincy Adams, as 
author, when not only the friends of the professed 
author, but the very person himself is living to contra- 
dict it ? Or, on the supposition that no such person 
existed^ as those to whom these books are ascribed, 
could the community have been imposed upon, and 
made to believe that there were such persons, and that 
they had written such books ? Especially, as they 
profess to relate facts of such a nature as could not 
fail to obtain public notoriety, and in which the authors 
themselves are said to have borne a conspicuous part. 
But, could they have been imposed on a subsequent 
age, with any less difficulty ? This supposes one or 
the other of two facts, either that Christianity existed 
before, or that it derived its origin from the forgery of 
these books in an age subsequent to that in which they 
profess to have been written. If we suppose the for 
mer, it involves the absurd idea that a community or 
sect of people could be made to believe that they had 
been for ages in possession of these books, containing 
a history of the origin of their religion, when they had 
not ; or, if we suppose the latter, we must believe a 
position equally absurd, that the community, at a cer- 
tain time, were made to believe that a certain sect had 
existed for ages, in various parts of the world, main- 
taining public worship, with certain established rites 
and ordinances, and that the history of this sect had 
been interwoven for centuries with the history of the 
world, when no such facts had existed. Such a thing 
would be as impossible as it would be now to impose 
upon this community Marshall's Life of Washington 
as an authentic history, on the supposition that no such 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 53 

man as Washington ever lived, and that no such event 
as the American revolution ever occurred. But, 

2. We are not left to this negative testimony alone. 
We have an unbroken chain of testimony, from the 
present generation back to the apostolic age, proving 
beyond the possibility of contradiction, the authenticity 
•of the New Testament ; and this proof extends to all 
the books included in the New Testament ; and to 
no other works of the same age. These books are 
quoted or alluded to by a series of writers, who may 
be followed up in unbroken succession, from the pres- 
ent time to the days of the apostles. But, as no one 
will doubt this fact in later ages, it is unnecessary here 
to commence an examination lower down than the 
fourth century ; and if any should inquire how we can 
know the fact of their having been thus quoted or al- 
luded to, fourteen hundred years ago, the answer is at 
hand. Manuscript copies of the writings alluded to, 
written in or near the ages when the authors lived, 
have come down to us, are preserved in many public 
and private libraries, both in this country and in 
Europe ; and they have been carefully examined, and 
extracts made from them and published, by learned 
men, who would not hazard their reputation by pub- 
lishing false extracts, when the original manuscripts 
are in the possession of the public, so that their errors 
could easily be detected. These books we have in 
our possession ; and we have the means, by reference 
to the original manuscripts, to determine whether the 
extracts published are genuine. 

But, besides innumerable quotations, from various 
writers, we have no less than ten distinct and formal 
5* 



54 AUTHENVlCiTY OT 

catalogues of the several books of the New Testametif^ 
which were extant in the fourth century, all of which 
agree with the list of the New Testament books now 
received. In the year 397, a provincial council as- 
sembled at Carthage, composed of forty-four bishops, 
of which Augustine was a member. One of the acts 
of this council reads thus : '' It is ordained that noth- 
ing beside the canonical scriptures be read In the 
church under the flame of the divine scriptures ;" 
and then proceeds to enumerate the canonical books, 
agreeing precisely with our books, and no more. In 
a book written by Augustine, also, there is a similar 
catalogue, concerning which he says, " In thes6 books, 
those who fear God seek his will." A short time 
before this date, Rufinus published a book, in which 
he gives a catalogue of both the Old arid New Testa* 
ment books, agreeing exactly with ours, '^ which," he 
remarks, ^' we find, by the monuments of the fathers, 
to hav^e be^ri delivered by the churches as inspired by 
the Holy Ghost." 

There are also several other writers of this period, 
whom I have not space to quote. In the year 350, 
also, " Epiphanius, bishop of Constantia^on the island 
of Cyprus," wrote against heresies, and gave a list of 
the books of the New Testament agreeing exactly 
with ours. Passing by several other WTiters of this 
century, we come to Eusebius, the author of a history 
of the church, who wrote about the year 315, and 
who mentions all our present books, as belonging to 
the canon of Scripture. 

We will now pass to the third century, where we 
find the celebrated Origen, who flourished about the 



*life NEW TESTAMENT. S5 

year 230, of whom Jerome says that he was the 
greatest doctor of the churches since the apostles' 
days, — that he had the Scriptures by heart, and labored 
day and night in studying and explaining them. He 
Was esteemed as one of the most learned men of his 
age, both by Christians and heathens. He lived with- 
in a hundred years of the death of the Apostle John ; 
so near the time of the publication of the books of the 
New Testament, that he must have had the means of 
knowing their origin and authors. He speaks of all 
the books of the New Testament, and of no others, 
as belonging to the sacred canort. The writings of 
four others, bishops of the third century, also contain 
large extJ'acts from every book of the New Testament, 
quoted as Scripture. 

In the second century, we meet with Tertullian, a 
hative of Carthage, w^ho was born about fifty years 
after the death of the Apostle John. His works cbntain 
quotations from all the books of the New Testament, 
except four of the short epistles ; and the omission to 
quote from these is no proof that he did not receive 
them, as these quotations are incidental, without any 
design of giving a complete catalogue. Concerning 
these quotations Dr. Lardner observes, that '' There 
are moi*e and larger quotations of the small volume of 
the New Testament in this one Christian author, than 
of all the works of Cicero, in the writers of all char^ 
acters for several ages ;" and the same is true with 
regard to Irenaeus and Clement, both writers of the 
second century. And, there is reason to believe that, 
In the time of Tertullian, the original epistles. In the 
handwriting of the apostles, were in the possession of 



66 AUTHENTICITY OF 

the churches to which they had been sent ; for he 
tells those to whom he was writing that, if they would 
visit the apostolical churches, they might see the very 
chairs in which the apostles sat, and see their very 
authentic letters, which, he says, were still read in 
those churches. But, besides Tertulhan, in this cen- 
tury, Melito, bishop of Sardis, wrote a commentary 
on the book of Revelation, and Tatian composed a 
harmony of the gospels. These were born about the 
time of the death of the Apostle John. But, beside 
these, we have Justin Martyr, who was ten years old 
at the death of the Apostle John. He was, before 
his conversion, learned in all the philosophy of the 
Greeks. His works, some of which have come down 
to us, contain numerous quotations from, and allusions 
to, the four gospels, which he represents as contain- 
ing the '' genuine and authentic accounts of Jesus and 
of his doctrines." The same is true*, also, in relation 
to the Acts and the greater part of the Epistles. The 
book of Revelation is said expressly, by him, to have 
been written by " John, one of the apostles." But, 
still higher up, we have the testimony of Papias, 
bishop of Hierapolis, in Asia, who was a hearer of 
John, and a disciple of Polycarp, who was John's 
pupil. He says, '^ If at any time I met with one who 
had conversed with the elders, I inquired after the 
sayings of the elders -. what Andrew or what Peter 
said ; or what Philip, Thomas, or James had said ; 
what John or Matthew, or what any other of the dis- 
ciples of the Lord were wont to say." This was 
very natural ; and it seems to bring us back to the 
j^postolic age ; for we should doubtless have said the 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 57 

same, if we had been there. This writer gives a very- 
valuable testimony to the gospels of Matthew and 
Mark, and the first epistles of Peter and John. He 
also alludes to the Acts and Revelation. 

But, we have testimony even from the age in which 
the apostles lived. There are five writers, who were 
personally acquainted with the apostles, and who quote 
or allude to almost every book of the New Testa- 
ment. These are, Barnabas, Clement, and Hermas, 
all of whom are mentioned in the New Testament ; 
and Polycarp and Ignatius, the former a disciple of 
John, and the latter having enjoyed the privilege of 
frequent intercourse with the apostles. Their works, 
though small, contain more than two hundred and 
twenty quotations or allusions to the sacred volume, 
which they call '' The Sacred Scriptures," '' The 
oracles of the Lord," fcc, showing that they regard- 
ed them as a revelation from God.^ 

* The following anecdote will serve to show both the extent to 
which the Scriptures are quoted by the fathers; and also, the re- 
markable providence by which they have been preserved, during 
barbarous and apostate ages, and a sure safeguard interposed 
against their alteration, corruption, or interpolation: 

The late Rev. Walter Buchanan, of Edinburgh, related that, as 
he was dining with a literary party, and afterwards spending the 
evening together, some one of the party proposed the following 
question : " Supposing all the New Testaments in the world had 
been destroyed at the end of the third century, could their con- 
tents have been recovered from the writings of the first three cen- 
turies ?" No one even guessed at an answer. But Lord Hailes, 
who was one of the party, having in his possession all the writings 
of those centuries, set himself at work to ascertain the fact ; and 
after two months' close application, he sent to Mr. Buchanan, and 
informed him of the result, staling that he had marked the quota- 



68 AUTHENTICITY OF 

Thus, we have the testimony of the whole church, 
from the present, back to the apostoHc age, that the 
several books of the New Testament were written by 
those persons whose names they bear, and in the age 
to which they are ascribed. Yet, we are not confined 
to the testimony of Christians alone ; although we 
must regard their testimony as of more value than any 
other, because they were convinced of its truth, and 
staked all that was dear to them on their belief in the 
Christian religion. But, 

3. We have the admission of the enemies of Chris- 
tianity, in relation to the authenticity of these books. 
They were widely circulated ; and in the controver- 
sies which arose, they were freely appealed to and 
quoted, both by Christians and Pagans. The em- 
peror Julian, an apostate from the Christian faith, and 
a most bitter opposer of Christianity, wrote against it 
in 361; and he bears testimony lo the four gospels 
and the Acts of the Apostles, as having been the gen- 
uine productions of the persons to whom they are 
ascribed. He has also quoted several of the Epistles, 
and no where insinuates that the authenticity of any of 
the books of the New Testament is to be questioned. 
Herocles^ who wrote in 103, and Porphyry^ in 270, 
both against Christianity; and also, Celsus, who wrote 
76 years after the death of the Apostle John, all pro- 

tions, so that any other person could examine them ; and he had 
actually discovered, quoted in those writings, the whole of the 
New Testament, except seven or eleven verses, which, he believ- 
ed, might be found, on further examination. This seems to be 
something more than a mere accident. The hand of God is to be 
recognized in it. 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 59 

ceed in their arguments upon the concession that the 
Christian Scriptures were the works of the authors 
to whom they were ascribed. The quotations of the 
latter are ^o numerous that they amount almost to an 
abridgement of the gospel narrative. Yet, though it 
would have been a great advantage to their arguments, 
they nowhere breathe a suspicion against the authen- 
ticity of these books. 

4. There are also several other considerations, 
which go to show that these books could have been 
written only in the age, and by the authors to which 
they are attributed, to which I have room only briefly 
to allude. Their language and style are in perfect har- 
mony with the character and circumstances of their 
reputed authors. They were Jews, by birth and ed- 
ucation, and Jews were to a great extent the persons 
to whom they wrote ; hence Jewish peculiarities are 
found broadly stamped upon them all ; and the lan- 
guage is a mixture of Hebrew and Greek, such as 
could have prevailed only in Palestine, before the 
destruction of Jerusalem, and the dispersion of the 
Jews. After that, the language of the New Testa- 
ment ceased to be a living language. And, we find 
in each of these books the pecuhar characteristics of 
their reputed authors, such as they are represented to 
be, in the narratives written by each other. There 
are, also, incidental allusions to the manners and cus- 
toms of the age, and to facts in the history of the age, 
such as could not have been correctly made by a 
writer in any other age, and such as would not have 
been attempted in a forgery. Such is the allusion to 
the universal taxing, mentioned in the second chapter 



60 GENUINENESS OF 

of Luke, which agrees with the accounts stated In 
profane history. 

Thus, though I have given but a very brief outhne 
of the testimony under this head, I think the point is 
estabHshed beyond question, that the several books of 
which the New Testament is composed, are the pro- 
ductions of the age and of the men to whom they are 
ascribed ; and, at the same time, all the proof adduc- 
ed under this head goes to show that these books were 
written by the inspiration of God. 

II. The second point to be proved is, that we have 
the genuine writings of these men, and that they have 
not been altered or corrupted since the age in which 
they were written. It only requires a little attention 
to the facts of the case, to show the impossibility of 
any such alteration or corruption. As soon as these 
books were pubhshed, they were eagerly sought after, 
and copies were multipHed and carried into distant 
countries, and preserved as sacred treasures. They 
were read in famihes, and expounded in churches. 
They were made the subject of attack and discussion, 
between Christians, heretics, and Pagans. In a short 
time copies were spread over the whole inhabited 
portion of the world, and they were translated into 
various different languages. All this took place be- 
fore the declension of piety, which introduced the 
superstitions of the Roman and Greek churches. 
Harmonies, commentaries, and catalogues were care- 
fully made and published. Thus universal notoriety 
was given to the books. And how could alterations 
have been made in them ? To succeed, they must have 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 61 

been made in all the copies. Could enemies have 
done it? Would Christians have received ihem ? 
Could heretics have made them ? Would the ortho- 
dox have received them ? Could the orthodox have 
made them ? Would not the heretics have taken ad- 
vantage of it, to promote their views ? Yet we hear 
DOthing of all this^ 

But we are not left here to reason from the impos- 
sibility of the thing. More than three hundred and 
fifty ancient manuscript copies of the books of the 
New Testament have come down to us. These w^ere 
written in different ages and countries. They have 
been carefully compared, and found to agree in all 
essential particulars ; though there are just such varia- 
tions in the reading as might be expected to occur by 
the mistakes of transcribers, such as the omission or 
transposition of letters, errors in pointing, &c. But 
the very worst of these manuscripts^ if it were the 
only copy of the New Testament, would not pervert 
one Christian doctrine or precept. These manu- 
scripts agree, also, with the numerous quotations con- 
tained in the works of early Christian waiters. "* But^ 
besides this, we have a number of ancient translations, 
some of which were made as early as the beginning of 
the second century, which agree substantially with the 
received text. One of these, the ancient Syrlac, the 
oldest version extant, was not known in Europe till 
the 16th century ; yet, w^hen it came to be compared 
with the received text, they were found to agree al- 
most exactly, containing no important variation. '' So 

* See note, page B7. 



62 GENUINENESS OF 

clearly and impressively," says an eminent writer j 
'' has Divine Providence attested the integrity of our 
beloved Scriptures." 

Still, there may be, in many minds, who yield to the 
force of the foregoing facts and arguments, a question 
whether the present received English version of the 
Bible is a faithful translation of the original. But I think 
a very cursory examination of the facts will satisfy their 
minds on this score. Before the present translation 
was made, there were several versions, differing some- 
what from each other ; and some dissatisfaction was 
felt with the Bishop's Bible, then in common use. 
In 1604, King James gave orders that a new trans- 
lation should be made ; and fifty-four men, pre- 
eminently distinguished for learning and piety, were 
appointed to undertake the work, of whom forty-seven 
entered upon it. These were divided into six classes, 
and a distinct portion of the Bible allotted to each 
class. Every individual of each class translated by 
himself the whole of the books allotted to them ; after 
which they met and decided upon the renderings 
which they would adopt. When it was finished, it 
was sent to each of the other companies^ to be again 
examined. This was done by one reading the trans- 
lation aloud, while each of the others held in his hand 
the original, or some other version, and the reader 
was interrupted and remarks made, as occasion called 
for. Thus the present English version is the result of 
six separate translations, brought into one, by the 
discussion and critical examination of all difficult points. 
This translation was first published in 1811 ; showing 
that its authors took time to perfect their work. It 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 63 

has since been frequently revised with great care, and 
many marginal notes added ; but no alterations have 
been made in the text. ^' It still remains," says Pro- 
fessor Bush, '' not only the standard version, but by 
the unanimous voice of the most competent judges, it 
is ranked among the very best translations of this or 
any other book in the world. In point of fidelity, 
perspicuity, simplicity, energy, and dignity, it doubt- 
less stands unrivalled." It is a sufficient evidence of 
its essential accuracy, that it has always been received 
and appealed to by all denominations of evangehcal 
Christians as a standard version ; and though many 
new versions have been made, none of them have ever 
obtained any considerable currency. 

III. Having established the fact that these books 
were written by the persons to whom they were attri- 
buted, at the time they profess to have been written ; 
and that we are in possession of genuine copies of 
them ; the next inquiry is, how we know that they 
were written by divine inspiration. This will appear 
from several sources of evidence : — 

1 . It has ah-eady been shown that the question of 
the truth of the gospel narratives cannot be separated 
from that of the divine inspiration of their authors, 
and the divine origin of the Christian religion. They 
testify to the fact of their own inspiration, and the in- 
spiration of each other. They could not be mistaken 
as to this fact, because the matters which they profess 
to have received by inspiration are not mere matters 
of opinion, but great facts and principles ; and these 
were attested by miracles, wrought publicly, either 



64 CREDIBILITY OF THE 

by themselves, or before their eyes. According la 
Luke's narrative of the Acts of the Apostles, all of 
them wrought miracles, to prove that what they taught 
was a revelation from heaven. Paul also declares 
this concerning himself. And these miracles, as well 
as those wrought by Christ himself, were of such a 
character that they could not possibly have been mis- 
taken. When the servants poured water into the 
water pots, at the command of Christ, and drew out 
wine, there could have been no deception about it, 
the wine having been declared good by the governor 
of the feast ; who must have been a good judge. 
And, when a man had been blind or lame from his 
birth, and was cured by a word from Christ or the 
Apostles, and was afterwards seen walking about, or 
when a man had been dead and buried four days^ when 
it was said that he came forth alive at the word of 
Christ, and continued alive, and was seen and con- 
versed with by the disciples, for sometime afterwards; 
and so, in regard to the resurrection of Christ ; it 
was impossible that they could have been mistaken. 
Therefore, these writers must either have asserted the 
truth, both in regard to their own inspiration and the 
miracles they relate ; or else they must have been 
guilty of asserting what they knew to have been false. 
It comes then to this, — The writers of the New Tes- 
tament were impostors, and imposed on mankind a 
narrative which they knew to be false, or else their 
narratives are true, and not only true, but given 
under the sanction of Divine inspiration, being all that 
it claims to be, — the word of God. But that they 
are true will appear. 



NEW TESTAMENT WRITERS. 65 

i. From the fact that these writers have shown 
themselves, by their conduct, to have been honest 
men. They could not have been deceived in regard 
to what they have stated ; and if they knew it to be 
false, we find them acting contrary to all that we know 
of human nature. They asserted these facts, in the 
face of opposition, obloquy, persecution, and death. 
They had no earthly object to gain by it. All the 
governments of the world were opposed to the reli- 
gion which they propagated. They could not gain 
honor, but were certain of receiving shame. They 
had no prospect of securing wealth, but the certain 
prospect of losing all things. They could not expect 
to gain the applause and affection of mankind, for the 
religion they preached was opposed to all the natural 
feelings, fixed prejudices, and confirmed superstitions 
of the people. And, on the supposition that they 
were impostors, and dishonest and false in their state- 
ments, they could have had no prospect of advantage 
beyond this life ; so that they must have been acting 
not only without motive, but directly in opposition to 
all the motives which usually influence men. We 
conclude, therefore, that they were honest men, and 
that they bore witness to the truth. 

2. It will appear that these narratives are true, and 

therefore that they contain a revelation from God, 

from the fact that the writers could not have made the 

people believe that they were true, if they had not 

been. These narratives were published during the 

lifetime of multitudes who are said to have witnessed 

the facts stated in them ; and at the same time it is 

proved, not only by the assertions of these writers, 
6# 



66 fi^E COSt^RL NAtlHATlVES. 

but by the concurrent testinnony of all history, tbal 
multitudes did believe theui, and risk their all upon 
their truth. Tacitus, a Roman historian, who was 
himself a Pagan, has attested the existence of Jesus 
Christ ; his public execution under Pontius Pilate ; 
the temporary checks which this gave to the progress 
of his religion ; its revival a short time after his death ; 
and its progress over the land of Judea and the Roman 
empire. No one pretends to do^bt these facts. Yet 
these facts show that multitudes must have been made 
to believe the facts attested in these books ; and mul- 
titudes in the very places where the miraculous events 
related in them are said to have transpired. But now, 
suppose some one should publish a book, asserting 
that, at a certain' time, a man who is now living, who 
was lame from his birth, had been cured of his lame- 
itess by two men calling upon him to rise up and walk, 
could they niiake any one believe it, if it was not true, 
while the man hiniiself, and his friends and neighbors, 
were living ? Yet, if the book of Acts is not an 
authentic narrative, we must believe precisely such an 
absurdity. And so, also, of the gospel narratives. 
Suppose a book should now be published, asserting 
that about thirty years ago, a certain person had been 
all over this land, followed by great multitudes, many 
of whom he had healed of diseases of long standing ; 
in many instances giving the rfames of persons and 
places ; and that, in several instances, giving names 
and places, he had raised persons from the dead ; that 
at length he himself suffered capital punishment, and 
after being some days buried, had risen from the dead, 
and remained forty days on earth, and then ascended 



TTHE GOSPEL NARRATIVES. Qf 

into heaven ; could the author gain any considerable 
credence to such a story, if it was not true, since 
there would be many persons living, in all the places 
named, who could examine into his statements ? No 
one would for a moment think sitch a thing possible ; 
yet this is precisely the case with the gospel of Mat- 
thew ; and the same also is true of the other evange- 
lists, except that a longer time had elapsed before their 
publication. That these books contain a true nar- 
rative of facts, is proved by the fact that they obtained 
such a currency in the age in wnich they were pub- 
lished ; and that the religion which they taught, in the 
short space of about thirty years, in the face of every 
disadvantage, spread over the whole of the Roman 
empire. The testimony of the same witnesses who 
wrote these narratives, ntust have carried conviction 
with it wherever they went, or they could not, by the 
simple force of the account they gave, have secured 
its introduction so extensively, during the short period 
of their ministry. And, moreover, we cannot account 
for this in any other way than that in which they ac- 
count for it themselves,— that God wrought with 
them, giving power and efficacy to their word. There 
is nothing like it in the history of other religions. 
There is nothing like it in the spread of Mohammed- 
ism. Mohammed was four years in making nine 
converts, while Christ had more than five hundred in 
three years ; and in a very short time after his death, 
more than five thousand. But the religion of Moham- 
med, although addressed to the natural passions of 
men, made little progress till he took up arms to pro- 
pagate it ; while the religion of Christ, which opposes 



68 INTERNAL MARKS OF CREDIBILITY. 

all the natural corrupt propensities of men, and was 
opposed by all the power of the world, yet spread 
over the whole world, by the force of a power inhe- 
rent in itself, in the course of about thirty years. 

We have, likewise, another testimony to the truth 
of these narratives, by the existence, at the present 
day, of ordinances and institutions, the origin of which 
is there stated. Such are the Christian church ; the 
Christian ministry ; baptism and the Lord's supper. 
The existence of these things, at the present time, is 
a witness of the truth of the account of their original 
institution. 

3. It must be that these narratives are true, because 
the facts stated in them were not contradicted by the 
enemies of Christianity, who Hved at the time they 
are said to have occurred. Even the most malignant 
of the Scribes and Pharisees, though they were con- 
stantly watching to detect imposition, were compelled 
to admit the miracles of Christ ; and therefore they 
ascribed them to Satanic influence. And Josephus, 
the renowned Jewish historian of that period, passes 
over these transactions in silence, although the gospel 
narratives were extant in his day ; and his silence 
shows that he could not contradict them. 

4. These books bear all the internal marks of credi- 
ble testimony. They were written by eight different 
authors, and yet, while they preserve a variety of 
manner and style, there is a perfect agreement among 
them, as to the facts stated, and the doctrines taught. 
Nor does any one writer contradict himself. One of 
the strongest marks of the credibility of a witness be- 
fore a court, is, that his story is consistent with itself* 



TESTIMONY OF EARLY WRITERS. 69 

This is true of each of these writers. Then again, 
the testimony of several witnesses is strengthened, by 
their agreement in relating the same story. This ad- 
vantage we have in the gospel witnesses. Then the 
testimony of witnesses is corroborated by its agree- 
ment with circumstances ; and this w^e have also. 
Such are their minute and accurate allusions to the 
manners and customs of the age in which they wrote ; 
their agreement, as to historical facts, with other his- 
torians, which will appear especially by comparing 
them with Josephus and other writers of tiie same 
period. As an illustration, take the first two verses 
of the second chapter of Luke, where the period men- 
tioned is designated by mentioning the name of the 
reigning emperor, and of the governors of the several 
provinces of Judea and vicinity, of the high priests, 
and also the taxing and enrolment which took place at 
that time ; all of which agree perfectly with the facts, 
as stated in profane history. And there are many 
more such allusions, which we have not room to state 
in particular. It appears, then, that these writings 
bear the internal marks of credible testimony, — ^having 
all the usual characteristics of truth. 

5. The early writers, whose testimony has been 
adduced to prove the authenticity of these books, uni- 
formly speak of them as having been given by inspira- 
tion, and as being of divine authority. This is appa- 
rent in the quotations already given ; and it is every 
where apparent in these writings. Irseneus, who was 
born about the year 57, calls them '^ divine oracles," 
and '' Scriptures of the Lord." He says the gospel 
was ''committed to writing, by the will of God, that 



70 TESTIMONY OF EARLY WRITERS. 

it might be, for time to come, the foundation and pil- 
lar of our faith." Origen says, '' Christians beheve 
Jesus to be the Son of God, in a sense not to be ex- 
plained by any but by that Scripture alone, which is 
inspired by the Holy Ghost ; that is, the evangelic 
and apostolic Scriptures, as also that of the law and 
the prophets." And similar expressions abound in 
the writers already alluded to. The books which 
now form the New Testament were, at a very early 
period, collected into one volume, and called the 
"New Testament," or ''New Covenant," in distinc- 
tion from the Old. This fact is established by Ter- 
tuUian, who was born only fifty years after the death 
of John, who alludes to these books under the terms 
of the ''New Testament," and the "Gospels and 
Apostles." These books were, also, at a very early 
period, read and expounded in the churches, as being 
of divine authority. The following extract from 
Justin Martyr, who was born ten years before the 
death of the Apostle John, gives us an interesting ac- 
count of primitive worship. ' In his apology to the 
emperor, he says : " The memoirs of the apostles or 
the writings of the prophets are read ; ^nd when the 
reader has ended, the president, ' that is, the presi- 
ding officer of the meeting,' makes a discourse, ex- 
horting to the imitation of so excellent things." This 
custom must have been, at this time, (which was about 
the year 140,) notorious and universal. The same 
thing is spoken of by many other early writers. And 
this fact shows that they were regarded by the churches 
generally as the word of God. The same thing is 
evident, also, from the fact that, during the primitive 



TESTIMONY OF CHRISTIANS. 71 

ages of the church, commentaries were written upon 
the books of the New Testament ; harmonies of them 
were formed ; copies were dih'gently compared ; and 
translations were made into difierent languages. These 
facts show that they were standard books, regarded 
as of divine authority. The agreement of the ancient 
church, as to what were the authentic books of the 
New Testament, is complete ; and the various sects 
of heretics in the earliest centuries, likewise entirely 
agree on the same point. And it is evident that the 
greatest care was taken, in the admission of these 
books into the sacred canon, by those who had the 
means of knowing what books had received the sanc- 
tion of the apostles, as given by inspiration. The 
fathers, in all their writings, and of all ages and coun- 
tries, appeal to these Scriptures as of infallible author- 
ity. At the same time, none of the apocryphal books, 
of which there are many, were thus received by the 
primitive church. They were never received as of 
divine authority, till they were introduced into the 
sacred canon by the church of Rome, at the council 
of Trent, in the sixteenth century. 

6. There is one proof more of the inspiration and 
divine authority of the Scriptures, which I think en- 
titled to no small consideration. It is the unbroken 
and united testimony of the whole Christian church, 
from the days of the apostles to the present time. 
To perceive the weight of this testimony, it must be 
observed that the testimony of every individual Chris- 
tian, from that day to this, is founded on a personal 
conviction so strong that it has exerted a controlling 
influence over his conduct, and led him to stake all 



72 TESTIMONY OF CHRISTIANS. 

his interests, for time and eternity, on the truth of this 
conviction. And this conviction has been formed 
either on a close and careful examination of the evi- 
dence which the Scriptures present that they are a 
revelation from God ; or from experiencing in them- 
selves feelings and emotions corresponding to those 
described in the Bible, or from both of these com- 
bined. Every Christian that ever lived is a witness 
to the truth and inspiration of the Scriptures ; and 
multitudes of these witnesses have sealed their testi- 
mony with their own blood. Moreover, this host of 
witnesses has been collected from all classes of society; 
embracing emperors, kings, philosophers ; learned 
men ; intelligent citizens ; men of plain common 
sense ; together with the poor and ignorant ; and 
even children ; all of whom have found something on 
which to rest a firm and unshaken belief, which has 
stood by them both in Hfe and in death. This is a 
kind of testimony which cannot be furnished for any 
other religion. It combines outward evidence with 
that which is practical and experimental ; and, it 
seems to me, if it stood alone by itself, it would be 
invulnerable to all attacks. Every Christian, who has 
experienced the power of the gospel on his own heart, 
is a living witness that the Bible is the word of God. 
He has the witness in himself, and it is manifest in 
his hfe. He can appeal to his own knowledge, and 
say, '' I speak that I do know, and testify that which I 
have seen." And oftentimes this is the most power- 
ful testimony that can be brought before the nnnd of 
the skeptical and doubting. They cannot fail (o see 
that the humble Christian has something within him 



CONCLUSION. 73 

of which they are destitute. But when this testimony 
is multiplied by the whole number of Christians that 
have ever existed, it is cumulative, powerful, irre- 
sistible. 

Thus I have given a brief outline of the external 
evidence of the authenticity and inspiration of the Holy 
Scriptures. Any one who will examine for himself, 
will find that I have only glanced at a mass of matter 
sufficient to fill many volumes. Yet, I think the 
evidence I have presented must be sufficient to satisfy 
imy candid and unprejudiced mind that the Christian 
Scriptures, contained in the Old and New Testa- 
ments, are a revelation from God ; and that they fur- 
nish an infallible standard of truth and duty. 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

1. If the foregoing conclusion be correct, the doc- 
trines taught in the Bible ought to be received with 
meekness and submission, as a little child receives in- 
formation from a parent ; nor should any objection be 
entertained against them, on the ground of any sup- 
posed unreasonableness^ which we may think we dis- 
cover in the doctrines themselves. The only ques- 
tion for us to examine is, Does the Bible teach them 9 
If it does, that is the highest reason we could have 
for believing them. What could make them so rea- 
sonable matters of belief as the fact that God has re- 
vealed them ? Surely, submission to the teachings of 
Infinite wisdom and knowledge is in the highest de- 
7 



74 PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

gree reasonable ; and nothing can be so unreasonable 
in the creature of a day, as to question the reasonable- 
ness of any thing that God has revealed. Want of 
attention to this fundamental principle, is the source 
of nearly, if not quite all the error there is in the world. 
It amounts to this, — the setting up of our own reason 
above or in opposition to the wisdom of God. Nor 
can we judge what it would be consistent or reasona- 
ble for God to do. He is infinitely above us. We 
can see but the minutest parts of his administration. 
For us to sit in judgment on any particular thing which 
he has revealed concerning his administration, is as 
absurd as for the fly, on the corner of a splendid edi- 
fice, who can see but an inch around, to sit in judg- 
ment on the architecture of the whole building. This 
view of the subject will remove the difficulties usually 
thrown around the doctrines of the trinity, of elec- 
tion, and of Divine sovereignty. 

2. The fact that the Bible is true, imposes the 
most solemn obligation on all who possess it, to be- 
lieve and obey it. And to do this, it becomes neces- 
sary that they should search it diligently^ and with an 
humble, teachable spirit, in order to understand what 
it teaches. This furnishes a strong motive to all to 
engage in the Sabbath school. This institution, by 
bringing in the social principle, furnishes excitement 
and stimulus to engage in this duty. It also furnishes 
facilities for understanding the Scriptures, by bringing 
together and comparing the views of various individuals 
on the same points. If the mere improvement of the 
intellectual powers is alone to be considered, no means 
can be employed, which will operate so powerfully 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 75 

upon a whole community as to engage them all in the 
regular and constant study of such a book as the Bible. 
The exercise of mind necessary to a critical under- 
standing of its meaning, and to a nice discrimination of 
Its doctrines, is as great a source of mental improvement 
as that required in the study of the learned languages, 
or the abstruse sciences. And wherever such a' 
course of study is thoroughly pursued, there will be a 
wakefulness of intellect, unknown to the ordinary mass 
of uncultivated minds. Yet this is nothing, when 
compared with the unspeakable importance of under- 
standing the revealed will of God, on obedience to 
which depends eternal life or eternal death. 

3. Our disbelief of the Bible will not diminish our 
obligation to obey it. True, we may not, perhaps, 
be satisfied with the evidence on which it rests its 
claim to inspiration ; but is God under any obligation 
to gratify us any farther on this point ? He has fur- 
nished us with evidence more extensive, more weighty, 
more luminous, than he has given us of any other fact 
in the past history of our race. If we will not receive 
this testimony, what if he should leave us to our own 
voluntary ignorance and blindness, — will it not be our 
own fault and folly ? And will he excuse us, because 
we shut our eyes to the light which he has held up 
before us } What if we should refuse to believe that 
the sun shines, — would the heavens gather blackness, 
and the firmament cease to convey light and heat to 
the earth ? What if we should refuse to believe that 
water will drown, and fire burn, and rush heedlessly 
into them, — will our unbelief save us ? What if we 



76 PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

believe there is no hell, — will our unbelief save us 
from eternal burnings ? 

4. A dreadful doom awaits those who hear or read 
the truths revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and yet 
obey them not. Christ likens such to a man who 
" built his house upon the sand ; and the rain descend- 
ed and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat 
upon that house, and it fell ; and great was the fall of 
it." In that land, the soil is loose and sandy, and 
the rains come only at particular seasons of the year ; 
but at those seasons, it pours down in torrents, for so 
long a time as to raise the little streams, which are dry 
a large part of the season, to impetuous torrents, 
which come rushing down the sides of the hills with 
irresistible force ; and if a house is built on the sand, 
its foundation is swept away, and it is dashed in pieces. 
And such will be the hopes of all, who do not rest 
upon obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ, re- 
vealed in this blessed book. A more dreadful storm 
is approaching, and awful indeed will be the fate of 
those of who have not their foundation fixed upon 
Christ, the Rock of Ages. Dreadful were the calam- 
ities which God brought upon Sodom and Gomorrah 
and Tyre and Sidon ; but more dreadful still the woes 
denounced upon Chorazin and Bethsaida, because 
they received not Christ upon his own testimony, — 
and, on the same principle, our condemnation will 
be still greater, if we neglect the same gospel. Paul, 
speaking of the condemnation of the unbelieving Jews, 
says, '' If the word spoken by angels was steadfast, 
and every transgression received a just recompense of 
reward, how shall we escape, if we neglect so great 



t>RACTICAL REMARKS. 77 

salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the 
Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard 
him ; God also bearing them witness, both with signs 
and wonders, and with divers miracles and gifts of the 
Holy Ghost ?" But we have not this only, but the 
accumulated testimony of more than eighteen hundred 
years, during which time, in various parts of the world, 
God has borne witness to the truth, by the outpouring 
of his Holy Spirit, and the conversion of sinners to 
himself. How then shall we escape, if we neglect so 
great salvation ! 

4. Finally,— -How thankful ought we to be, that 
God has given us such unquestionable evidence of the 
truth of his Holy Word ; and that he has preserved 
it pure and uncorrupted, in the midst of the opposi- 
tion of heathen and infidels, and the corruption and 
wickedness of its professed friends ; and that he has 
preserved it in such a manner that the evidence of its 
genuineness is within our reach. May his goodness 
lead us all to repent of our past neglect of the sacred 
oracles, and to a closer and more faithful examination 
of, and obedience to, the precious truths therein re- 
vealed. 



78 THE BIBLE AND CREATION^c 



CHAPTER III. 



The Third Pillar. — The Bible contains^ within 
itself^ the most conclusive evidence of its divine 
origin. 

We argue the existence of God from the works of 
creation, because they every where bear the impress 
of a Supreme Intelligence ; but the same evidence 
of the operation of a Supreme Intelligence in the 
works of creation prove that God created them. By 
analogy, the same argument will apply to the Bible. 
The Holy Scriptures, on every page, bear the im- 
press of a Supreme Intelligence. The existence of 
such a book as the Bible proves that there is a God ; 
for no one but a Divine Being could have produced 
such a book. But the same evidence of the opera- 
tion of a Supreme Intelligence, in the production of 
this book, proves that God is the author of the Bible. 

Let us pursue this analogy a little further. The 
candid student o( geology finds the earth to be formed 
according to the dictates of a superior wisdom. The 
soil^ which, of all its parts, is most important for the 
practical use of man, lies on the surface, and is acces- 
sible to every one, and its uses capable of being under-- 



1:'liE BIBLE AND CREATION. 79 

Stood and applied by the meanest capacity. But as 
he proceeds into the earth, he discovers the coarser 
metals, which are useful for common purposes, in 
great abundance ; the precious metals, in suflScient 
quantities to answer the higher purposes of life ; 
while the jewels and precious stones, which are 
chiefly for ornament, are very rare. Yet, beyond all 
this, as he digs into the bowels of the earth, he dis-- 
covers new wonders at every step of his progress, 
which excite his curiosity and admiration, but which 
he is wholly incompetent to explain. So the student 
of the Bible finds those doctrines and precepts, which 
are necessary to a knowledge of his duty and the way 
of salvation, lie on the surface, and apparent to the 
meanest capacity, when studied with humility and sub- 
mission. But beyond this he discovers the coarser 
metals, — the strong truths^ the iron and steel, which 
impart energy and force to the Christian character, — 
tlie precious metals, those discoveries which delight 
and enrapture the soul, — and, farther on, the jewels 
and precious stones, — -the sparkling gems of truth, o 
surpassing excellence and surprising beauty. But 
further on still are those deep and unfathomable won- 
ders, which finite minds can only admire and adore. 

The same thing is apparent, if we compare the 
Bible with the heavenly bodies. The sun is the most 
prominent in the heavens ; and its light and heat are 
vastly more important to the human race than all the 
discoveries of astronomy. So the doctrine of the 
Atonement of Christ stands out in the Bible like the 
sun in the heavens ; and this, to the poor soul bur- 
dened with guilt, is as important as light and heat to 



80 THE BIBLE AND CREATION. 

the world. Yet as the closer observation of the heav-^ 
ens has discovered a beautiful system of order and 
harmony, — a system of worlds revolving round the 
sun as a common centre ; so the student of the Bible 
discovers in it a beautiful system of divine truth, re- 
volving in harmonious order around the cross of Christ, 
as its common centre. And as every increase of the 
power of the telescope discovers new wonders in the 
heavens, — new stars, new suns, and new systems, far 
off in the regions of infinite space ; so at every ad- 
vance which the biblical student makes, he discovers 
new wonders and new glories, which alike confound 
him by their vastness and fill him with delightful ado- 
ration. 

If we descend to a more minute examination of the 
works of creation^ we are filled with admiration at the 
wonderful adaptedness of every thing to its particular 
design, evincing the all-pervading presence of an Infi- 
nite Intelligence in their construction. But to the 
student of the Bible the same thing is equally apparent 
m that wonderful book. It is emphatically the Peoples^ 
Book^ — addressed to the commen sense of mankind, 
consisting of every variety of style and_manner, as 
Well as every species of composition, and containing 
something especially adapted to every class of per-^ 
sons ; and although written in an obscure province of 
Western Asia, in rude and barbarous ages, among a 
people of peculiar manners and habits, differing from 
all other nations, yet equally adapted to every country 
and every age of the world ; and alike to the earliest 
developements of the human intellect and the most 
advanced stages of cultivation. The child, the ser- 



THE BIBLE AND CREATION. 81 

vant, the mechanic, the merchant, the husbandman, 
and the man of science, all find in it something which 
they can understand and follow, and something to em- 
ploy the noblest powers of their minds. 

Can such a book be the work of a man, or of any 
number of men ? As well might we ask, could a man, 
or could any combination of human power and skill, 
stretch forth the heavens as a curtain, fix the sun in 
its orbit, and sprinkle the sky with countless worlds 
and systems of worlds ? Or, could human power 
originate tliis earth, pile up its mountains on high, 
spread abroad its beautiful valleys, pour forth its broad 
rivers, and shut up the sea with doors and bars, say- 
ing, "hitherto shalt thou come, but no further, and 
here shall thy proud waves be stayed ?" Or could 
man, by his knowledge and skill, form the beautiful 
mechanism of animal bodies, and adapt each one, and 
every part, so nicely to its specific duties ? For surely 
greater skill cannot be necessary to do these things, 
tJian to make a book which shall give exact informa- 
tion to the human mind, on just those subjects in re- 
lation to which it needs to be informed, and adapt it 
to all the varied capacities and tastes of men, in all 
ages and countries of the world. This beautiful world, 
with all things therein, was the product of six days' 
labor ; but the Bible was the production of nearly 
fifteen hundred years. If, then, the student of Nature 
must come to the conclusion that there is a God, who 
has made all things, the student of the Bible must 
come to the conclusion that there is a God, who has 
revealed himself in that blessed book. But this argu- 



82 THINGS REVEALED CONCERNING GOD. 

merit reversed proves this book to be the work of 
God. 

Yet there is a difScuhy in presenting this subject in 
such a manner that it can be appreciated by any other 
than a student of the Bible, or even to describe it at 
all, in a treatise or a discourse — the same that there is 
in describing the features of a beautiful countenance, 
the exquisite combination of colors in the rainbow, 
the sweet sounds of a fine-toned instrument of music, 
or the appalling grandeur of a thunder storm at sea — 
either of which must be seen or heard to be under- 
stood and felt. Yet there are a few prominent points 
that may be presented ; and this I shall now undertake 
to do. I observe, then, 

1. That, what the Scriptures teach concerning 
God^ commends itself to the reason and common 
sense of mankind, as being essential to the Supreme 
Creator and Governor of the Universe. Such are, 
the unity and spirituality of the Divine Essence or 
Natm-e ; the Eternity of his being ; and the perfection 
of all his attributes, constituting, together, a Being of 
Infinite Perfection. I need not specify the passages 
which teach these things concerning God. They are 
familiar to every one that is familiar with the Bible. 
But it must be apparent to all, that these things are 
essential to God ; and that a being, falling in the least 
degree short of Infinite Perfection, could not be 
God. I do not assert that this truth may not be dis- 
covered by the light of nature ; yet the fact that all 
nations, destitute of the Scriptures, have lost this 
knowledge of the true God, and that it has only been 
preserved in the Holy Scriptures, shows that the sa- 



THINGS REVEALED CONCERNING GOD. 83 

cred record must be a revelation from God. The 
light of nature has, by reason of sin, become dark- 
ness ; and all nations, except such as have been in 
some way enlightened through the influence of the 
Holy Scriptures, have no adequate ideas of the na- 
ture of the true God. The philosophers of Greece, 
probably, received their ideas of God from the Jew- 
ish Scriptures, which, at an early period, were trans- 
lated into the Greek language ; and whatever cor- 
rect ideas of God the modern Deists may have, they 
have stolen from the Christian Scriptures. 

2. The Scriptures reveal things which could not 
be known except by revelation from God ; and yet, 
when revealed, these truths commend themselves to 
the reason and consciences of men. Such are the 
facts of the resurrection of the body and the immor- 
tality of the soul, — facts, which all the light of nature 
and of science are incompetent to teach, and concerning 
which, they have never been able to discover any 
thing more than '' probabilities by conjecture." Such, 
also, is the provision it reveals for securing the in- 
tegrity of God's government, while it extends pardon 
to the guilty. The fact, that God can pardon sin, 
consistently with his justice, could never have been 
discovered except by a direct revelation from God 
himself; for no other being could determine this 
to be possible ; and the fact, that this revelation is ac- 
companied by a scheme which preserves the holi- 
ness of God and the integrity of his government, 
is evidence of its divine origin ; this scheme being en- 
tirely beyond the capacity of any human being to 
devise. 



84 MYSTERIES. 

3. The Scriptures reveal great facts, so entirely 
incomprehensible in their nature, as to render the 
conception of them above the capacity of finite 
beings. Such is the fact that God subsists in a 
trinity of persons, while the Divine Essence, or Na- 
ture of the Godhead, is one and indivisible. It can- 
not be shown that this is contrary to right reason ; 
yet it is entirely above the province of reason to 
comprehend it. That the conception of the idea is 
above human reason, is proved by the fact that it 
never has been conceived, except as taught by the 
Scriptures. The heathen have their ''gods many 
and lords many ;" but it cannot, I think, be shown that 
they have ever conceived the idea of one Infinite Su- 
preme Intelligence, subsisting in a mysterious manner, 
in a plurality of persons. The fact that this is myste* 
rious and incomprehensible, though often brought as 
an argument against this doctrine, is in fact an argu- 
ment in its favor, and in favor of the inspiration of 
the book which teaches it. If the Bible contained no 
mysterious and incomprehensible things, it would lose 
much of its claim to our confidence, as a divine reve- 
lation. In a revelation from the infinite God to finite 
creatures, it is reasonable to expect many facts to be 
stated, the nature of which are beyond the powers of 
finite minds. But this doctrine is no more incompre- 
hensible than any thing else that is revealed concern- 
ing God. Who can comprehend the eternity of 
God ? Let the human mind stretch its utmost length, 
backward and forward, and what progress can it make 
towards the apprehension of a Being who never began 
to be, and who will never cease to exist ? Beyond 



MYSTERIES. 85 

the utmost verge of human thought, there still lie the 
trackless shores of eternity. And who can under- 
stand the self-existence of God ? Who can fathom 
the meaning of that ineffable name, "- 1 am ?" What 
idea can a finite mind form of existence without a 
cause ? What idea can w^e form of a First Cause, — 
a cause which is its own cause — while we have never 
been conversant with any thing but second causes ? 
The very idea of infinity, in its application to any of 
the attributes of God, is altogether beyond the grasp 
of a finite mind. Who can tell how God can be 
present in every place, and have a perfect concep- 
tion of all things throughout infinite space at the 
same moment ? What idea can we form of power 
which has no limit but the will of its possessor ? And 
who can fathom the infinite holiness of God ? These 
are divine and glorious mysteries, just such as we 
might reasonably expect to find in a revelation from 
the Infinite God. The existence of these sublime 
mysteries in this revelation also agree with the anal- 
ogy of God's works, whereby, also, as well as in his 
word, he has made himself known. The w^orks ol 
creation and providence, from the structure of the 
smallest insect and the growth of a spire of grass, to 
the architecture of the heavens and the rolling of the 
spheres, are full of mysterious and incomprehensible 
things. We conclude, therefore, that the fact that 
the Scriptures contain the declaration of facts, the 
existence of which is neither absurd nor unreasonable, 
and yet the nature of which is mysterious and incom- 
prehensible, fixes the impress of divinity upon these 
Scriptures. The very perfection of nature ascribed 
8 



86 ORIGIN OF ALL THINGS. 

to God in the Bible, is evidence, also, of its divine 
origin ; for what finite mind could originate the con- 
ception of such perfection ? 

4. It is an evidence of the divine inspiration of 
the Scriptures, that they contain a rational and con- 
sistent account of the origin of all things. This can- 
not be said of the sacred books of the heathen ; or of 
any theory or conjecture based upon any thing else 
but the Mosaic account. All the accounts contained 
in the sacred books or traditions of the heathen, are 
filled with absurd and ridiculous fables ; and yet they 
approach so near to a caricature of the account which 
the Bible furnishes, as to corroborate it. On the sup- 
position that this account is true, we should natu- 
rally expect tradition would teach just what it does. 
But I have said this account is consistent and ra- 
tional. It is consistent with the character of God. 
According to this account, almighty power is dis- 
played in the creation in a most sublime and glori- 
ous manner — ''He spake and it was done, he com- 
manded and it stood fast," — what more worthy of 
God ? The holiness of God is also equally conspicu- 
ous ; for, according to this account, all things left the 
hand of their Creator perfectly good. And what idea 
can be formed of the origin of all things, more rational 
and consistent with reason ? 

5. It is evidence of the divine inspiration of the 
Scriptures, that they account, in a rational and satis- 
factory manner, for the present character and con- 
dition of man. If we were left to infer that man was 
originally created the same sinful being which he now 
is, and placed in the same wretched condition, it 



CHARACTER AND CONDITION OF MAN. 87 

would reflect upon the character of the Creator. But 
the Bible declares that he was originally created holy, 
with ability to choose between good and evil ; and it 
gives a history of his fall from the estate in which he 
was created, which is both rational in itself, and con- 
sistent with the infinite holiness of God. And this 
evidence is greatly strengthened by the fact, tliat the 
account contained in the Bible is the only one which 
furnishes a satisfactory explanation of the present char- 
acter and condition of the human race, and of the world 
in which we live. Without this account, we should 
be left, in regard to this matter, in total darkness. 

The same may be said, also, of the diversity of 
languages in the world ; and of many other things 
which exist under the Divine administration, which 
have perplexed the wisest of men. But for this ex- 
planation, we should be at a loss to account for the 
existence of suffering, under the wise administration 
of a Supreme, beneficent Being. But in the Bible 
it is explained in a manner which commends itself to 
the conscience of every man. Here, suffering is 
connected with the curse pronounced upon the head 
of the race, as part of the penalty of disobedience; 
and we are taught to regard it as the punishment of 
sin. Yet David was perplexed to discover, that the 
sufferings and trials of this life come alike upon both 
the righteous and the wicked. And he could find no 
explanation of the mystery, till he went into the sanc- 
tuary, to inquire of God ; and there he learned that 
this world is a state of trial and probation, and that 
exact retribution is reserved for another world. This 
is what the Scriptures teach ; and they further explain 



88 HARMONY OF THE BIBLE. 

the mystery, by declaring that the sufferings of the 
righteous are not retributive punishnaents, but fatherly 
corrections, designed for their good. 

6. The Bible is proved to be a revelation from 
God, by the agreement of its parts. This wonderful 
volume is made up of more than sixty different books, 
professedly written by more than thirty different au- 
thors, at various times, during a period of about fifteen 
hundred years. And that they were so written, is 
evident from the fact, that every author has a style 
peculiar to himself, and every book bears unequivo- 
cal marks of the age in which it professes to have 
been written. For example, the Penteteuch could 
not have been written after the captivity, because it is 
m pure Hebrew ; but after the dispersion of the Jews 
among other nations, their language contained a mix- 
ture of the languages of the people among whom they 
sojourned ; and so of the other books, every one 
contains inherent evidence of having been written in 
the age to which It is ascribed. Yet all the parts of 
this book completely harmonize. One grand design 
runs through the whole, as it were a chain to bind it 
together; and there is the most perfect Jiarmony of 
sentiment and doctrine throughout the whole. This 
allegation will bear the most rigid scrutiny ; and the 
more it is examined, the more apparent it will be. 
All the books of the Bible agree most perfectly in 
their representations of God, of human character, and 
of the way of salvation; and, indeed, on every sub- 
ject upon which a sentiment is advanced. It would 
not be possible to form a volume, at the present day, 
by collecting together the same number of books, 



HARMONY OF THE BIBLE. 89 

written by an equal number of persons belonging to 
the same religious denomination, without a diversity 
of opinion. Nor would it be possible to select thirty 
men, who, without concerts, should writo a voluiiae of 
this size, without any clashing of opinion. But here 
we have a volume written by upwards of thirty 
<lifFerent authors, varying in their education and 
modes of thinking, according to the customs and 
habits of different ages ; written, too, in different 
languages. To believe that siich a number of hooks 
could be produced, without concert, by such a num- 
ber of uninspired men, at such intervals of time, 
which should maintain such perfect agreement, con- 
sistency, and harmony throughout, requires a degree 
•of creduhty beyond any thing ever charged upon be- 
lievers in the Bible. And to believe that Acse books 
were forged by an individual, involves the absurdity of 
believing that one man could write in so many differ- 
ent styles ; that he could imitate the shades of varia- 
tion in a language at different periods of time ; coun- 
terfeit the peculiarities of different ages ; and make all 
his authors perfectly agree with the characters ascribed 
to them ; and all this, to such perfection as to defy 
•detection. An impostor, to accomplish such an un- 
dertaking, must be more tha^i human. We know, in- 
deed, that contradictions are charged upon the Bible ; 
but these apparent contradictions vanish on a close 
scrutiny, made by one who is willing to receive the 
truth. They have weight only with the superficial or 
unwilling student. And there is not only this agree- 
ment in all its parts, but a progressive developement 
^f a grand and glorious scheme from the beginnings 
8^ 



00 WRITERS OF THE SCRIPTURES, 

which could not, by any possibility, have been con- 
tinued, carried on and consummated, by different in- 
dividuals, during a period of fifteen hundred years, 
except by the direction of God. Nor can we select 
particular portions of the Bible, and say this or that 
only is to be regarded as the word of God, without 
marring the beauty and disturbing the harmony of the 
whole. It would be hke striking off a particular con- 
tinent or sea, and denying it a place as a part of this 
world ; or like striking out one of the planets from 
the solar system. 

7. The writers of the Bible profess to speak by 
the inspiration of God. This was proved beyond 
dispute in a former chapter. But if the writers of the 
Bible were good men^ they would not have professed 
what was not true, especially as they represent God 
as regarding liars with abhorrence, and expressly de- 
clare that the righteous will not lie. It has also been 
shown that, from the very nature of the case, they 
could not have been mistaken. But this book could 
not have been written by bad men, without contra- 
dicting all that we know of human nature ; because it 
would be acting against themselves. It represents 
God as infinitely holy, and unchangeably opposed to 
sin. It denounces the most terrible threatenings 
against sinners. It represents the natural feelings of 
men as opposed to God — at enmity with him. It 
represents God as angry with the wicked, and in an 
attitude of threatening and judgment. Its doctrines 
are directly opposed to the natural feelings of men; 
yet there is a most perfect agreement betv;^een these 
doctrines and the character of a just and holy God. 
Moreover, the scheme of reconciliation between God 



MAJESTY OF STYLE. 91 

&nd man, proposed in the Bible, is directly opposed 
to the natural feelings of men ; and calculated to hum- 
ble the pride of their hearts, bring them to renounce 
all idea of personal merit, and submit themselves, un- 
conditionally, to their offended Sovereign. Can any 
one believe such an absurdity, as that bad men would 
write such a book against themselves ? There is no 
book in the world that wicked men hate so much as 
the Bible ; and no book over which they would re- 
joice more if it were struck out of existence. This 
is the natural feeling of all men. It follows, then, 
that the Bible was neither written by good men with- 
out inspiration, nor by bad men for wicked purposes ; 
it must, therefore, be the work of God. 

8. No one can be conversant with the Bible with- 
out perceiving a majesty of style, commanding awe 
and reverence, which attaches to no other writings. 
The impression made upon the mind is, that God is 
speaking. The language of the evangelist, when com- 
paring the teaching of Christ with that of the Scribes 
and Pharisees, applies with equal force to the whole 
Bible, in comparison with other writings : '' He taught 
them as one having authority ^znd not as the Scribes.'' 
This is especially apparent when compared with the 
Apochryphal writings, the Koran, or the sacred books 
of the heathen. The Bible speaks as if the right of 
its Author to command, or to determine what is truth, 
were unquestioned ; and it never once betrays the 
consciousness of pretension, or the inability of its 
Author to enforce what it commands. 

6. Another internal evidence of the divine origin of 
the Bible is, the perfection of its code of morals, its 



9B PERFECTION OE ITS CODE OF MORALS. 

laws, and its institutions. The law of God, whether 
contemplated in its summary of two great principles, 
or its ten precepts, is perfect, as I have before re*- 
marked, embracing every thing necessary to be for- 
bidden or required. The same may be said of this 
law which is truly said of its Divine Author, — nothing 
can be added to it or taken from it. It bears the im- 
press of its Author. It is a transcript of His holy 
character. And the same may be said of all the institu- 
tions of the Bible. The morality of the Bible is as 
pure as its Author. It requires conformity of heart 
and life to a perfect law. Whether we compare it 
with the moral code of the heathen, of Mohammed, 
of ancient philosophers, or of modern Deists, it differs 
from them in this one grand feature, that it is perfect 
and entire, while imperfection cleaves to the best of 
them. 

This argument, also, is capable of a more extensive 
apphcation. It is true of everything which the Bible 
teaches, that there is a perfection about it, which can 
be found in no othel* book. If, then, a tree is known 
by its fruit, this book cannot be the production of 
imperfect men. It must be the work of a perfect 
being ; and God is the only being of whom absolute 
perfection can be predicated ; therefore the Bible is 
from God. 

Another evidence of the divinity of the Scriptures, 
is the account which they give of Christ, and the be- 
nevolent plan which existed in his mind for the benefit 
of mankind. No one doubts that there was such a 
person as Jesus Christ ; but some believe, or pretend 
to believe, that be was an impostor and deceiver ; 



CHRIST'S PLAN. 93 

and others set him down as a mere man, but of excel- 
lent character and exalted worth. If any were dis- 
posed to regard him as a fictitious character, it might 
be rephed that the human mind is incapable, without 
divine aid, of conceiving and describing such a char- 
acter. In all the fictions that ever have been written, 
there is nothing that will bear any comparison with it. 
In all these descriptions there is an attempt at perfec- 
tion ; and the writers generally succeed in producing 
a character in some respects unnatural and above real 
life ; yet they can never succeed in divesting them 
entirely of human infirmity and imperfection ; and 
most generally these are very manifest. But in the 
character of Jesus, as drawn by the evangelists and 
apostles, not the slightest imperfection exists ; while 
his whole character is brought down to real hfe. But 
if we suppose him to have been a deceiver and im- 
postor, we have still greater difficulties to encounter. 
If we admit the account which the evangelists give of 
him as true, and consider him as acting the part of a 
deceiver, we find him acting contrary to all the known 
principles of human nature. A deceiver and impos- 
tor must have some personal object to advance ; and 
such a person will always be found taking the advan- 
tage of circumstances, to favor his own selfish pur- 
])Oses. But we find Jesus always acting contrary to 
this. He pleased not himself. He sought not ease, 
or the enjoyment of worldly pleasure and comfort. 
We never find him returning evil for evil, or railing 
for railing, though constantly the subject of ill-treat- 
ment and abuse. If he had been a deceiver he would 
have coveted the approbation of the rulers, and cher- 



94 CHRIST'S PLAN. 

ished the good will of the common people. But 
though every thing was favorable to this he did neither. 
At this time the whole mind of the Jewish nation was 
in waiting anxiety and expectation of the coming of 
the promised Messiah, as a temporal prince, to deliver 
their nation from the Roman yoke ; yet he never once 
gave countenance to the prevailing opinion on this 
subject, but always opposed it. Instead of seeking 
the favor of the Scribes and Pharisees, the most in- 
fluential leaders of the nation, he openly and publicly 
denounced their hypocrisy, avarice, pride, and false 
doctrines. When one of the rulers came to him by 
night, and acknowledged their behef that he was a 
teacher sent from God, instead of embracing this op- 
portunity for strengthening their good opinion of him, 
he made a solemn declaration, directly opposed to the 
strong and deeply cherished prejudices of the nation, 
— that it was necessary for Jews as well as Gentiles, 
to be born from above, in order to enter into the king- 
dom of God. When his own countrymen were filled 
with astonishment at the wisdom and grace with which 
he addressed them, instead of taking advantage of the 
popular feeling to raise a party for himself^ he foretold 
their future rejection of him, and by an allusion to the 
times of Elijah and Elisha, intimated that the blessings 
of the kingdom of God w^ould be taken from them and 
given to the Gentiles ; so that the multitude were 
filled with wrath, and sought to destroy him. On 
another occasion, when the people were about to take 
him by force and make him king, he withdrew from 
them, and hid himself in a desert place, spending his 
time in communion with God. He never sought pub- 



CHRIST'S PLAN. 95 

lie notoriety, but often enjoined secrecy upon those 
who had been healed by him. Instead of making the 
terms of discipleship easy, and promising earthly re- 
wards to his followers, he required them to forsake all 
they had, with no prospect of worldly advantage, but 
persecution and the loss of all things. Nor did he, 
like impostors in general, seek to make converts from 
among the rich ; on the contrary, when a rich ruler 
came to him, he proposed such rigid terms of disci- 
pleship as discouraged the young man from attempting 
to follow him. He was constantly assaulting the na- 
tional prejudices of the Jews, and advancing senti- 
ments the most repugnant to their national pride. He 
shrunk from no hardship or self-denial, and sought no 
higher enjoyment than he found in doing the will of 
God. He discouraged the worldly expectations of 
his disciples, and foretold to them his death; and 
when the officers came to apprehend him, instead of 
attempting to flee, or offer resistance, he meekly sur- 
rendered himself up, only asking that his disciples 
might be suffered to depart unmolested. All this is 
directly contrary to the course pursued by ambitious 
and designing impostors ; and certainly proves at least 
that he was sincere and honest in whatever he pro- 
fessed to be. But if we* suppose his disciples have 
misrepresented him, and made him appear what he 
was not, in the accounts which they have given, the 
difficulty is not at all diminished. His disciples were 
Jews, partaking of all the bigotry and prejudice of 
their countrymen ; and it would be the most unnatural 
thing in the world for them to think of doing honor to 
Jesus, by representing him as opposing all the cher- 



96 CHRIST'S PLAN. 

ished opinions and feelings of their countrymen, and 
proclaiming the destruction of their nation, and the re- 
ception of the hated Gentiles into the favor of God. 

But if we admit that Jesus was honest and sincere, 
and no impostor, we must admit all that he claimed to 
be ; for the claims which he makes to divinity are of 
such a nature that he could not be mistaken in regard 
to them. For he claims to be equal with God the 
Father ; and to be in possession of the attributes of 
omniscence, omnipresence, and omnipotence. When 
Nathanael came to him, Jesus told him that he had 
seen him when he was under the figtree, while Nathan- 
ael knew that he had not been present ; and he ex- 
pressly declared to Nicodemus that he himself was 
then in heaven, while conversing with Nicodemus on 
earth. He also declared to his disciples that all 
power was given to him, both in heaven and on earth. 

Morever the benevolent plan for the benefit of the 
human race, which existed in the mind of Jesus, 
proves him to have been a divine being. For the 
conception of such a plan, and the attempt to execute 
it, are altogether beyond the scope of the human mind, 
or the benevolence of the human heart._ This plan 
was nothing less than that of giving a new religion to 
the whole world, adapted to the circumstances and 
wants of all the varieties of the human race, and con- 
taining in itself the principle of universal renovation of 
heart and reformation of life. It is an incontestible 
fact that, among all the heroes, legislators, philoso- 
phers, and priests of antiquity, in all ages before 
Christ, not one of them ever thought of devising a 
plan for the benefit of others, extending beyond the 



PRESERVATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 97 

limits of the particular tribe or nation to which they 
belonged ; and least of all should we expect such a 
scheme from an unlettered Jew, enclosed as that nation 
was by an iron band of prejudice and hatred towards 
all other nations. The very conception of such a 
plan, and the attempt to execute it, by a person 
brought up in the most unenlightened portion of 
Judea, himself destitute of human learning, proves 
that he must have been either himself a divine person, 
or endowed with divine inspiration ; but as he pro- 
fesses to be divine, his own claim, in such circum- 
stances, must be admitted. 

Now if this argument is valid, it proves that the 
Scriptures are a revelation from God ; for as was 
shown in the last chapter, Jesus testified to the inspi- 
ration of the Old Testament, and promised the gift of 
inspiration to his apostles, to enable them to write the 
New. 

11. Another argument suitable for this place, is the 
remarkable, if not miraculous preservation of the Holy- 
Scriptures. The Bible is, of all books, most hated 
by wicked men ; yet there has not come down to us 
another book, bearing the proofs of equal antiquity, 
by many ages. Moreover, attempts have repeat- 
edly been made, by persecuting kings and priests, to 
destroy all the copies of the sacred word. And 
while the Ark of the Covenant, the tables of stone, 
and the sacred utensils of the Jews, have long since 
ceased to exist, the Sacred Scriptures have come 
down to us with incontestible evidence of their genu- 
ineness, — a fact which cannot be accounted for except 
we admit that the special protection of Providence 
9 



98 THE BIBLE SPEAKS TO TFIE HEART. 

has preserved them. The fact already stated, re-- 
specting the preservation of the New Testament, ia 
the writings of the fathers, applies here with great 
force. ^ And the same may be said of their universal 
diffusion. There is no other book in the world so 
widely diffused and so extensively read, at the present 
day, as the Bible. This bx)ok has, indeed, become 
the standard of literature in many languages. There 
are but two ways in which this can bd accounted for, 
either of which is proof af the divinity of the Scrip- 
tures, — -one is> the direct providence of Gody and the 
other, such an adaptation to the wants of men in the 
book itself as to give it universal currency. Probably 
both these agencies have contributed to the result. 
Why has not the Koran been universally circulated .^ 
It is translated into the English language ; but no one 
buys or reads it, except from mere curiosity. Evi- 
dently because it is not such a book as the necessities 
of man call for. 

12. We might proceed with the enumeration of 
points of this nature, which are familiar to the student 
of the Bible, almost indefinitely ; but we will mention 
only one more. The Bible speaks to the heart and 
consciences of men. It is '' quick and powerful, and 
sharper than any two-edged sword, and is a discerner 
of the thoughts and intents of the heart.'' It is this 
which gives the Bible its power in restraining and re- 
forming mankind. It gives such an accurate descrip- 
tion of the character and feelings of men, as to pro- 
duce the conviction that it could only have been 

* See note, page 57. 



CONCLUSION. 99 

written by the direction of Him who searches the 
hearts and tries the reins of the children of men. But 
this argument possesses a double power to the mind 
of one who has experienced the renovating influences 
of that Spirit which dictated the word of God. He 
not only sees therein, as in a mirror, his own native 
character ; but he finds there described the very ex- 
ercises and affections which he every day experiences 
in the Christian life ; thus furnishing a living testimony 
to its divine authority. He has the witness in him- 
self. This is what Christ alludes to, when he says, 
*' If any man will do his will, he shall know of the 
doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of 
myself." So if any would know whether the Bible 
is from God, or whether it be of men, let them re- 
ceive and obey the gospel which it teaches, and they 
will have the witness in themselves that it is from 
God. 

Thus I have endeavored to present a few of the 
leading internal evidences of the divine origin and 
authority of the Holy Scriptures, from which it ap- 
pears that what the Scriptures teach concerning God 
commends itself to the reason and common sense of 
mankind, as being essential to the Supreme Creator 
and Governor of the universe, — that the Scriptures 
reveal things which could not be known, except by 
revelation from God ; and yet when revealed, these 
truths commend themselves to the reason and con- 
sciences of men, — that the Scriptures reveal great 
facts, so entirely incomprehensible in themselves as 
to render the conception of them above the capacity 



100 CONCLUSION. 

of finite beings, — that the Scriptures contain a rational 
and consistent account of the origin of all things, 
and acccount, in a rational and satisfactory manner, 
for the present character and condition of man, 
the diversity of languages in the world, and many 
things which exist under the divine administration, 
which have perplexed the wisest of men, — that though 
the Bible is made up of a great number of different 
books, written in different ages, and by different 
authors, and in a great variety of style, yet there is a 
perfect agreement of doctrine and sentiment through- 
out, one grand design running through the whole, — 
that the writers of the Bible profess to speak by inspi- 
ration of God ; and unless what they profess was true, 
they were bad men ; but that bad men could not make 
such a book as the Bible, and if they could they would 
not, because they would not write against themselves : 
for to do so would be like a house divided against 
itself, — that there is a majesty of style in the Sacred 
Scriptures found in no other book, — that the code of 
morals, laws, and institutions, as well as every thing it 
teaches, are so perfect as to show that it must have 
come from a perfect Being, — that the account which 
the Scriptures give of Christ, and his benevolent plan 
for the renovation and reformation of the world, bears 
the impress of divinity,- — that the Scriptures have 
been preserved and diffused in such a manner as to 
show that they are under the special protection of 
God's providence, — and, finally, that it speaks to the 
hearts and consciences of men. Each of these points 
furnishes a distinct and independent proof that the 
Bible is a revelation from God ; and all of them to- 



CONCLUSION* 101 

gether, a series of proofs, strong and impregnable. 
And yet the diligent and humble student of the Bible 
will find these proofs constantly accumulating, to 
strengthen and confirm his faith, as he digs into this 
mine of sacred treasure. 

But it may be asked, if such is the tendency of the 
study of the Bible, why is it that so many persons 
deny its divine authority ? This question, however, is 
easily answered. Those who thus reject the Bible, 
or parts of the Bible, may be divided into three 
classes. The first never study the Bible with suffi- 
cient care to observe these evidences of its divinity. 
The second determine before hand that they will not 
believe certain doctrines ; and when they study the 
Bible, and find it full of these very doctrines, which 
they hate, they are forced to the rejection of the 
greater part or the whole of the sacred volume. This 
is particularly the case in regard to the doctrines of 
vicarious atonement^ and the eternal punishment of the 
wicked. These doctrines stand out so prominently 
throughout tfee whole Bibk, that those who are deter- 
mined not to believe them, are obliged to deny the 
inspiration of the greater portion of the Scriptures ; 
and this accounts for the downward tendency of those 
systems which reject these doctrines. There is no 
alternative but to embrace them, or give up nearly 
every thing contained in the Bible, except its bare and 
naked precepts. Such persons are completely under 
the dominion of prejudice, in the strictest meaning of 
the term. They have prejudged the case before ex- 
amination. And is it to be wondered at, that one 
who disbelieves the doctrine of vicarious atonement, 
9* 



10^ CONCLUSION* 

or the atonement for sin, by the substituted sufferings 
of another,-— is it to be wondered at, I say, that such 
a one should regard the story of Abraham offering up 
his son as "a thought at which the flesh creeps with 
horror ?" But that story is in perfect harmony with 
the grand theme which runs through the whole Bible ; 
and to one v/ho believes in this doctrine, it is not only 
full of meaning, but exceedingly sublime and beautiful. 
Nor is it strange that one who rejects this doctrine 
should find the New Testament full of '' obvious con- 
tradictions and absurdities ;" for the New Testament 
is full of this doctrine. 

But there is a third class, who wish the Bible were 
not true, because they find it a restraint upon their in* 
clinations, continually marring their pleasures. They 
cannot quietly take their fill of sin, while the word of 
God thunders its anathemas in their ears. But all 
these several classes are opposing themselves to God. 
The first treat his message with neglect and indiffer- 
ence ; the second set up their own reason and their 
own will against the teachings of Infinite Wisdom ; 
and the third say, with the fool, ^' No God,— no 
Bible,"— that is, they wish there were none. 

These are all to be classed together, as the enemies 
of God and man. But there is another class, perhaps 
in many cases the dupes of these, who are to be re- 
garded with commiseration. They have not gone so 
far as positively to reject the Scriptures ; but they 
are bewildered in the fogs of skepticism ; their confi- 
dence in the sacred oracles is impaired ; they grope 
in darkness ; the Bible is a sealed book to them ; 
their minds have been thrown off their balance by 



M ACTIO AL REMARKS. iqS 

Sophistry and false reason, and they cannot appreciate 
the evidence of its inspiration. They sink in deep 
mire, where there is no standing ; and every effort 
they make to extricate themselves but sinks them 
deeper. We pity them. We commiserate their 
wretched condition. We pray God to take their feet 
out of the horrible pit and the miry clay, and set them 
on a rock. But the best advice we can give them is, 
to study the Bible^ with the sincere purpose of ascer- 
taining its meaning ; and if they persevere in so doing 
they w^ill soon be convinced that it is the word of 
God. We doubt whether they will pass from the 
book of Genesis, before this conviction will fasten 
strongly and irresistibly upon their minds ; and we may 
hope also, that they will experience, by the power of 
that Spirit which gave the word, it5 efficacy in turning 
them from darkness to light. 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

1. From the charatiter of God, as we have here 
seen it presented in his word, is to be inferred the 
infinite obligation which men ar^ under to honor, 
adore, love, and obey him. His almighty power and 
majesty are worthy of all honor ; his eternity of being, 
his omniscience and omnipresence, and his infinite 
wisdom, render him an object infinitely worthy of 
adoration ; his infinite holiness is deserving of the 
highest love ; and his exalted supremacy, our submis- 
sion and sincere obedience. Whoever^ therefore, 
fails to render to God due honor, adoration^ love and 



104 iPRACTlCAL REMARKS. 

obedience, is guilty of the violation of infinite obli* 
gations. 

2. From the fact that God has condescended to 
give us a revelation of his will, may be inferred our 
obligation to study, beheve, and obey it. Some sup-* 
pose that they are at liberty to believe what they 
please ; and that if they do not believe the Bible, 
they are released from the obligation to obey it. 
But God will hold them accountable for their neg* 
lect of the revelation which he has made ; and great 
indeed must be the guilt of those who neglect, con- 
temn, or despise a revelation that God has stooped 
from his high and lofty throne to make to sinful man. 
And the guilt of suCh conduct is greatly enhanced by 
the nature of the revelation itself, it being entirely the 
offspring of pure benevolence, communicating a knowl* 
edge of just those truths which man needs, and points 
ing out the way in which he may be delivered from 
his wretched and miserable condition, and made eter- 
nally happy. What awful ingratitude, — what base- 
ness, — what deep and dreadful guilt, — thus to requite 
the condescending love, the infinite mercy of the holy 
and blessed God ! 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 105 



CHAPTER IV 



Fourth Pillar, in part.— T/ie Bibh contains 
prophecies J ivhich have been fulfilled^ and which are 
fulfilling; and the fulfilment of these prophecies 
demonstrates the fact of the Divine inspiration of 
the Bible. 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 

When an event is predicted, and so clearly describ- 
ed as to correspond exactly with the event when it 
transpires ; when this prediction is made and publish- 
ed a long time before the event ; and when the event 
transpires in such a manner as to forbid the idea that 
it was designedly and purposely brought about by the 
actors therein for the purpose of fulfilling the pro- 
phecy ; then we have incontestible proof that the pre" 
diction was made by Divine revelation ; for no human 
skill or foresight can discover events that are yet fu- 
ture. In the enumeration of prophecies that have 
been fulfilled, I shall include the threatenings and pro- 
mises of the Bible ; and I shall consider a book of the 
Bible, written many ages after the one which contains 
the prediction, as of good authority to show its fulfil- 
ment, especially where there is no allusion to the 



106 THE CURSES FULFILLED. 

prophecy fulfilled, to give countenance to the suspi- 
cion in the mind of the skeptic, that the event was re- 
corded for the express purpose of showing the fulfil- 
ment of the prophecy ; though this will by no means 
weaken, but the rather strengthen the evidence in the 
mind of the believer. ' Though it has recently been 
asserted, that the prophecies of the Bible have never 
been fulfilled; yet the fact is, that the predictions 
which have been clearly and manifestly fulfilled are 
so numerous that it is not possible to bring forward 
any thing more than a few of the most striking, within 
the compass allotted to this part of the subject, in the 
present work. The prophecies concerning Christ, 
will not be noticed in this connection, but taken up 
separately, in a subsequent chapter. 

THE PENTATEUCH. 

1. The first prediction which calls for our at- 
tention is, the curses pronounced upon our first pa- 
rents and the serpent, at the fall, compared with 
facts.*" Has not the condition of woman, in all ages 
and in all countries, corresponded exactly with the 
description here given ? Have not the serpent tribe, 
the world over, crawled upon the ground and eaten 
the dust ? And has there not always been enmity be- 
tween man and the serpent, even where this curse 
was never read ? Has there not every where been a 
curse upon the ground ? Has not man always eaten 
of the fruit of the ground in sorrow ? Has it not 
always, in every age, and in every land, brought 

* Gen. iii, 14-19. 



THfi CURSES FULFILLED. 107 

forth thorns, and thistles, and weeds, spontaneously; 
while every useful production, for the sustenance of 
man, has been produced by cultivation, in the sweat 
of man's face ? And has not man always, after a cer- 
tain period of toil and suffering, returned to the dust 
from whence he was taken ? It may, indeed, be said, 
that Moses only described the fact as it was known to 
himself. But Moses wrote in an early age ; and his 
knowledge of the state of things throughout the world, 
except as derived from inspiration, must have been 
very limited. His early life was, indeed, spent in 
the country then most renowned for learning; but 
commerce had not then brought the different parts of 
the world into acquaintance with each other ; and still, 
the greater portion of his life had been spent in lead- 
ing his jflocks, or directing the footsteps of his people 
over the deserts of Arabia. How could he know 
that the serpent would every where crawl on the 
ground and lick the dust ^ That there would every 
where be enmity between the serpent and man ? And 
that thorns and thistles would grow spontaneously 
over all the face of the earth ? And how can these 
facts themselves be accounted for, except on the 
ground that this account is true } Is nature, in other 
respects, thus uniform in her productions ? Will the 
fig-tree grow in North America, or the vine in Green- 
land, or the olive and orange trees in Iceland, or the 
peach in Kamschatka? How is it, then, that no 
climate or soil is unfitted for the production of the 
thorn and thistle ? And how is it that, when man un- 
dertakes to elude the curse, and live in ease and indo- 
lence, disease and pain come upon him, and thus fill 



108 NOAH'S PREDICTIONS. 

up his life with sorrow ? Can these things be account- 
ed for, in any rational manner, except on the ground 
of the truth of the Mosaic account ? 

2. The predictions of Noah concerning his sons, 
as recorded by Moses, have been literally fulfilled, 
and are fulfilling to the present day.^ A curse was 
predicted to fall upon Canaan, the son of Ham ; and 
it was declared that he should be a servant of ser- 
vants unto his brethren ; and from the accounts given 
in Joshua, Judges, and Chronicles, without any re- 
ference to this prediction, it appears that the rem- 
nants of the tribes of the Canaanites, who were not 
destroyed by the children of Israel, according to the 
command of God, were reduced to servitude, and 
some of them made hewers of wood and drawers of 
water to the children of Israel. f Others fled from 
the country and settled in Egypt, where they after- 
wards fell under the dominion of the Romans, the de- 
scendants of Japheth ; so that Canaan was, according 
to the prediction, under bondage to both his brethren 
at once. And '^ although the sentence here recorded 
was to spend itself mainly upon the descendants of 
Ham, in the line of Canaan, yet it is an historical fact 
that the curse of servitude has signally fallen upon 
other branches of his posterity, of which the fate of 
the African race is a standing evidence ; but how far 
we are at liberty to refer that fact to the effect of 
Noah's curse, on this occasion, is not clear. "J It is, 
however, quite certain that we are not to construe it 

* Gen. ix, 25-27. 

t Josh, ix, 23, 27. Judges i, 28. 2 Chron. ii, 17, 18, 

t Bush's Notes, Vol. I, p. 163. 



NOAH'S PREDICTIONS. 109 

into a justification of the act of enslaving our fellow- 
creatures. 

Tiie manner in which Shem is here spoken of, — 
''Blessed be the Lord God of Shem," indicates a 
a formal bestowment of the birthright upon Shem, 
which was taken from Ham. The import of these 
words is, ''that Jehovah, the true God, should, a3 
the God of Shem, be the object of praise, homage, 
and blessing ; that his name, in opposition to idols, 
should be acknowledged as known and reverenced in 
the line of this father of the chosen race, and that 
they, on the other hand, should receive from him 
tokens of favor and blessing which were not vouch- 
safed to other people."^ This was literally fulfilled 
in the history of the chosen people of God of old. 

Noah also says, " God shall enlarge Japheth," — - 
which means that God shall increase both the pos* 
terity and territories of Japheth ; " and this, as a tem- 
poral blessing, has been most remarkably fulfilled ; for 
Japheth, who had several more sons tlian either of his 
brethren, appears to have been the progenitor or 
father of more than half the human race. The whole 
of Europe, and a considerable part of Asia, were 
originally peopled, and have ever since been occu- 
pied," mainly by the ofi^spring of Japheth. 

3. Passing by the prophecies concerning the mul- 
titude of Abraham's seed, and their possession of the 
land of Canaan, which were literally fulfilled ; we 
oome to that delivered by the angel to Hagar, con- 
cerning her son Ishmael, before he was born ; and 

* Bush's Notes, vol. i, p. 165, 
10 



110 THE ISHMAELITES. 

spoken not of him as an individual, but as the head of 
a nation : — '' I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, 
that it shall not be numbered for multitude ; and 
(speaking of Ishmael,) he shall be a wild man; his 
hand will be against every man, and every man's hand 
against him ; and he shall dwell in the presence of all 
his brethren. ""^ From Ishmael proceeded the various 
tribes of Arabs, who have always been a very power- 
ful people. The description above quoted is literally, 
''he shall be a wild-ass-man^ — that is, hke the wild 
ass ; and the description of the wild ass in Job, 
agrees exactly with the character which the Arabs 
have always sustained : '' Who hath sent out the wild 
ass free ? or who hath loosed the bonds of the wild 
ass? Whose house I have made the wilderness, and 
the barren land his dw^ellings. He scorneth the mul- 
titude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of 
the driver. The range of the mountains is his pas- 
ture, and he searcheth after every green thing, "f So 
God has sent out the Arabs, the descendants of Ish- 
mael, free, and loosed them from all political restraint. 
The same wilderness in which he dwelt, three thou- 
sand seven hundred years ago, is still their_habitation ; 
and in the barren land, where no other human beings 
could live, they have their dwellings. Like the wild 
ass, they scorn the city, and have no fixed habitations. 
When they make depredations on cities, towns, or 
caravans, they retire into the desert with such precipi- 
tancy, that all pursuit is eluded ; so that the crying of 
the driver or pursuer is disregarded. They may be 

* Gen. xvi, 12. -f Job xxxix, 5-8. 



THE ISHMAELITES. m 

said to have no lands, and yet the range of the moun- 
tains is their pasture. They pitch their tents and 
feed their flocks wherever they please ; and they 
search after every green thing, — are continually look- 
ing after prey, and seize every kind of property that 
comes in their way. It was foretold that their hand 
should be against every man, and that every man's 
hand should be against them ; and yet that they should 
dwell in the presence of their brethren, i. e. sustain 
their independence in the face of all their brethren. 
They have always sustained the same predatory char- 
acter, making war upon all who come within their 
reach ; and yet they have never been subdued. At- 
tempts were made by Sesostris, king of Egypt, Cy- 
rus, king of Persia, Pompey, Trajan, and others, to 
conquer them; but they were never successful.^ 

Now how can we account for the fact that Moses 
should give so exact and complete a description of 
this people, three thousand and seven hundred years 
ago, on any other supposition than that he was divine- 
ly inspired ? And how can we account for the fact, 
that these people have, for so many ages, answered so 
exactly to this description, always resisting success- 
fully every attempt to civilize them, except on the 
supposition that God has preserved them in this con- 
dition to fulfil his own word, and set the seal of truth 
upon the five books of Moses ? A distinguished wri- 
ter says, '' If there were no other argument to evince 
the divine origin of the Pentateuch, the account of 
Ishmael, and the prophecies concerning his descend- 

♦ Home's Int., voK i, p. 122. 



112 ISAAC'S PREDICTIONS. 

ants, compared with their history and manner of life 
during a period of nearly four thousand years, would 
be sufficient. It may, indeed, be pronounced abso- 
lutely demonstrative." 

4. The next prophecy which I shall notice is that 
of Isaac concerning his sons. To Jacob he said, 
"Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to 
thee : be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's 
sons bow down to thee." In the second book of 
Samuel, it is mentioned, without any allusion to this 
prophecy, that David put garrisons throughout all 
Edom, and they of Edom became David's servants."* 
But Isaac says, also, to Esau, ''^It shall come ta 
pass, when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou 
shalt break his yoke from off thy neck." Now it i& 
related in the same incidental manner as before, in the 
second book of Kings, after the degeneracy of the 
kings of Judah, that Edom revolted from the hand of 
Judah, whose kings were unable any more to bring 
him into subjection. f Thus, in both cases, literally 
fulfilling the prophecy of Isaac. 

5. Passing over the promises made to Jacob, and 
the fulfilment of the prediction to Abraham, of the 
430 years' affliction of his posterity, including their 
oppression in Egypt, we come to the promises and 
threatenings delivered by Moses to the children of 
Israel. A careful comparison of the promises con* 
tained in the 26th chapter of Leviticus and the 28th 
of Deuteronomy, which were made to the Jews, on 

* Gen. xxvii, 29. 2 Sam. viii, 14. 

t C. Gen. xxvii, 40 w. 2 Kmgs viii, 20-22. 



MOSES, CONCERNING THE JEWS. 113 

condition of obedience, with the history of the Jews 
in the days of Joshua and of the good Judges and 
Kings, will show a literal fulfilment, so exact that the 
promise is a fair description of the history ; and the 
same may be said of the threatenings, compared with 
the subsequent history of the Jews, in the days when 
they departed from the Lord. But as all have the 
means of making this comparison for themselves, I 
shall pass on to compare these prophecies with the 
history of the Jews, as given by the writers of pro- 
fane history, together with their present condition. =^ 

It is wonderful (o see the exact correspondence of 
historical facts, both sacred and profane, with these 
threatenings. But passing over the former, for want 
of time, let us come down to the later periods of 
their history. The Romans destroyed their cities 
and ravaged their country, and the inhabitants who 
escaped from the famine, the pestilence, and the 
sword, were forcibly expelled from Judea ; and fled 
as houseless wanderers into all the surrounding re- 
gions. But the fugitive and exiled Jews still clung to 
their native soil ; and about sixty years afterwards, so 
many of them had returned as to be able, under an 
impostor, who claimed to be the Messiah, to make a 
vigorous attempt to re-conquer Judea, to cast off the 
Roman yoke, and rescue themselves and their coun- 
try from ruin. This war lasted two years ; in which, 
exclusive of many that died of famine, sickness, and 

* The reader is requested, before proceeding farther, to read 
attentively the 26th chapter of Leviticus and the 28th of Deuter- 
onomy 

10* 



114 MOSES, CONCERNING THE JEWS. 

fire, five hundred and eighty thousand Jews are said 
to have been slain. They were so beset on every 
side by the Roman soldiers, that very few of them 
escaped. Fifty of their strong holds were razed to 
the ground, and their cities sacked and consumed by 
fire. Judea was laid waste, and left as a desert. 

Thus were accomplished the predictions of Isaiah 
and Jeremiah, who said, '' The cities shall be wasted 
without inhabitant. Every city shall be forsaken, and 
not a man dwell therein." And in the language of 
Moses, '' They were rooted out of their land in anger^ 
and in wrath, and in great indignation." A public 
edict of the Emperor Adrian rendered it a capital 
crime for a Jew to set foot in Jerusalem ; and pro- 
hibited him from viewing it even at a distance. 
Heathens, Christians, and Mohammedans have suc- 
cessively possessed Judea ; but the children of Israel 
have alone been denied the possession of it ; and 
whenever any of them have gone to visit the land of 
their fathers, they have been more cruelly treated than 
any where else. Thus has the language of Moses 
been verified,— '^ The stranger that is within thee 
shall get up above thee very high, and thou shalt come 
down very low." 

But Moses proceeds and says, ^' The Lord shall 
scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the 
earth even unto the other." And this prediction was 
repeated, in various forms, and greater particularity, 
by the later prophets. It has been literally fulfilled. 
It is fulfilling at this present time. They have been 
dispersed throughout all nations. There is not a 
country on the face of the earth where the Jews are 



MOSES, CONCERNING THE JEWS. 115 

unknown. They are found alike in Europe, Asia, 
America, and Africa. They are citizens of the world, 
without a country. They abound in Poland, Hol- 
land, Russia, and Turkey. In Germany, Spain, 
Italy, France, and Britain they are more thinly scat- 
terred. In Persia, China, and India, according to the 
prediction, they are few in number among the heathen. 
They have trod the snows of Siberia and the sands of 
the burning desert. From Moscow to Lisbon, — from 
Japan to Britain, — from Borneo to Archangel, — from 
Hindostan to Honduras, no inhabitant of any nation 
upon earth, but a Jew alone, would be known in all 
the intervening regions. And herein is verified another 
prophecy of Moses, '^ And yet, for all that, when 
they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast 
them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them 
utterly.'* No other example is known of any nation 
preserving its identity through such a series of calami- 
ties ; and the fact that they are yet preserved as a 
distinct people, is a standing miracle to verify the 
word of God. '' Kings," says one of their historians, 
'^have often employed the severity of their edicts and 
the hands of the executioner to destroy them, — the 
seditious multitude have performed massacres more 
tragical than the princes. They have, from age to 
age, run through misery and persecution, and torrents 
of their own blood. But like the bush of Moses, 
they have burnt without consuming." 

The Emperor Constantine, after suppressing an in- 
surrection, raised by some of the Jews, caused their 
ears to be cut off, and then dispersed them as fugitives 
into different countries, where they carried these 



110 MOSES, CONCERNING THE JEWS. 

marks of their suffering and infamy as a terror to their 
kindred. Justinian abolished their synagogues, pro- 
hibited them from entering into caves for their wor- 
ship, rendered their testimony inadmissible in courts, 
and deprived them of the natural right of bequeathing 
their property ; and when they resisted such oppres- 
sion their property was confiscated, and a bloody ex- 
ecution of them followed, so that the historian says, 
'' all the Jews of that country trembled," — thus em- 
ploying almost the very words of Moses, ''the Lord 
shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of 
eyes, and sorrow of mind." 

In the reign of the tyrant Phoeas, a general sedition 
broke out among them. They were taken captive ; 
many of them maimed ; others executed ; and all the 
survivors banished from the city of Rome. Herac- 
lius, unable to satiate his hatred against them, by in- 
flicting a variety of punishments on those who resided 
within his own diminions, and finally expelling them 
from his kingdom, stirred up against them a gen- 
eral persecution, from Asia to the farthest extrem- 
ities of Europe. They fled from country to country, 
seeking in vain any rest for the sole of their foot. 
Mohammed, from the very commencemerit, infused 
into his followers a hatred of the Jews ; and in Mo- 
hammedan countries, they have always been perse- 
cuted and oppressed. The church of Rome has 
always treated them as heretics ; pronounced excom- 
munication against those who should favor or uphold 
the Jews against Christians ; forbidden Christians to 
eat or associate with them ; prohibited them from 
holding any offices, — appointed them to be distin- 
guished by a mark, and ordered their children to be 



MOSES, CONCERNING THE JEWS. II7 

taken from them and brought up m monasteries. Hal- 
lam, the historian of the middle ages, says, " They 
were every where the objects of popular insult and 
oppression, — frequently of a general massacre. A 
time of festivity to others was often the season of 
mockery and persecution to them. It w^as the cus- 
tom at Toulouse to smite them on the face every 
Easter. At Beziers they were attacked with stones, 
from Palm Sunday to Easter. It is almost incredible 
to what length extortion of money from the Jews was 
carried ; for they evinced a talent of accumulating 
riches, which kept pace with the exactions of their 
plunderers. Philip Augustus released all Christians 
from their debts to the Jews, reserving a fifth part to 
himself. He afterwards expelled the whole nation 
from France ;" from which country they were seven 
times banished. They were also expelled from Spain, 
— one hundred and seventy thousand families departing 
from thai kingdom. In France, many thousands of 
them were pillaged and massacred. In England, also, 
they suffered great cruelty and oppression. During 
the crusades, the whole nation united in their persecu- 
tion. At York, fifteen hundred Jews were refused 
all quarter, and, frantic with despair, perished by each 
other's hands. They were so hated and despised, 
that some English barons, to gain the favor of the 
populace, ordered seven hundred Jews to be slaugh- 
tered at once, their houses to be plundered, and their 
synagogue burned. The kings of England often ex- 
torted money from them. The extortions of Henry 
III. were so great, that they petitioned for leave to 
depart from the kingdom, but even this was denied 



118 MOSES, CONCERNING THE JEW9. 

them. Edward I. seized all their property, and ban- 
ished them from the kingdom. 

For many ages after the dispersion of the Jews, 
they found no resting place in Europe, Asia, or Africa. 
They have generally been confined to a particular part 
of every city, and compelled to wear a particular 
dress ; and in some places shut up at particular hours. 
In all parts of Persia they are an abject race, and sup- 
port themselves by driving a peddling trade. They 
live in a state of great misery ; pay a monthly tax to 
the government ; and are not permitted to own or 
cultivate land. They cannot appear in public, much 
less to perform their religious ceremonies, without 
being treated with scorn and contempt. The reven- 
ues of the prince of Bohara are derived from a tribute 
paid by five hundred families of Jews. In Zante 
they exist in miserable indigence, and are exposed to 
considerable oppression. In Egypt the Jews are 
depised and persecuted incessantly. In Arabia they 
are treated with contempt. Both in Asia and Africa 
the Jews are astonished, and the natives indignant, at 
any act of kindness towards this despised people. Till 
within the last fifty years the burning of a Jew formed 
the highest delight of the Portuguese. They thronged 
to behold this triumph of the faith, and the very wo- 
men shouted with transport as they saw the agonized 
martyr writhe at the stake. It is but a few years 
since there was a severe persecution against the Jews 
in Persia and Germany ; and in several of the smaller 
States of Germany, even to the present day, they are 
not permitted to sell any goods, even in the common 
markets. la Russia they are not permitted, on. pain 



MOSES, CONCERNING THE JEWS. ng 

of banishment, to offer any goods for sale, nor to re- 
side in any of the cities of the empire, without an ex- 
press permission from government ; and this is given 
only when their services are required by the govern- 
ment. And those who harbor Jews that are con- 
demned to banishment, are liable to punishment. 
Thus is verified the prophecy that, in the midst of all 
these calamities, no man shall save them. 

In this prophecy Moses says, " The Lord shall 
smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonish- 
ment of heart ; so that thou shalt be mad for the 
sight of thine eyes, which thou shalt see," This was 
true in the siege of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans ; but 
in that by Titus and the Romans, and in the sub- 
sequent conduct of the miserable relics of the Jews, 
says Walter Scott, their infatuation was so evident 
that every one who reads of their conduct must be 
convinced that they were given up to judicial blind- 
ness and madness, or they never could have been so 
bent upon their own destruction. While, by their 
obstinate resistance of the Roman power, without the 
least prospect of escaping, they ensured their own 
miseries ; by their intestine rage they became the ex- 
ecutioners of the WTath of God upon themselves, 
almost saved their enemies the trouble of destroying 
them, and absolutely put it out of their power to pre- 
serve them. After the destruction of Jerusalem, 
some of the worst of the Jews took refuge in a castle, 
where, being closely besieged by the Romans, at the 
persuasion of their leader, they first murdered their 
wives and children. Then ten men were chosen by 
lot to slay the rest. This being done, one of the ten 



120 MOSES, CONCERNING THE JEWS. 

was chosen to kill the other nine, which he did, and 
then set fire to the place and stabbed himself. 

Moses also says, '^ The Lord shall bring thee into 
Egypt again with ships ; — and there ye shall be sold 
unto your. enemies for bondmen and bondwomen ; and 
no man shall buy you ;" meaning that they should be 
considered too despicable even to purchase for slaves. 
After the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, and the 
desolation of Judea, by Adrian, many of the captives 
were sent by sea into Egypt, and sold for a vile price, 
to perform the meanest offices ; and many thousands 
were left to perish for want ; for the multitude was 
so great that purchasers could not be found for them 
at any price. 

Thus it will be seen that, according to the threatenings 
of Moses, they have been slain before their enemies ; 
they that hated them have reigned over them ; the pride 
of their power has been broken ; the sivord has been 
repeatedly brought against them^ to avenge the quarrel 
of God'^s covenant ; they have eaten the flesh of their 
sons and daughters^ as they did in the famines and 
sieges recorded in Scripture^ and also during the siege 
of Jerusalem by the Romans; their cities^have been 
laid wasteland their sanctuaries brought to desolation ; 
their land also has been brought to desolatian^ and 
strangers dwell therein ; they have been scattered 
among the heathen ^ and a sivord drawn after them ; 
faintness has been sent into their hearts^ in the land of 
their enemies ; they have fallen upon one another with 
the sword ; they have perished among the heathen^ and 
the lands of their enemies have eaten them up ; and 
they that have been left of them have pined away in 



IVfOSES, CONCERNING THE JEWS. 121 

their enemies^ lands ; they have become an astonish- 
ment^ a proverb^ and a by-word^ among all nations^ 
for the name Jew has long been a proverbial mark 
of detestation and contempt, among all the nations 
whither they have been driven, — '^ You use me like a 
Jew, — none but a Jew would have done this, — I 
would not have done so to a Jew," — these are com- 
mon expressions in almost every part of the world ; 
they have served their enemies in hunger ^ and in thirsty 
and in nakedness^ with an iron yoke upon their necks ; 
the Lord has made their plagues wonderful^ and the 
plagues of their seed^ even great plagues^ and of long 
€ontinuance ; and among the nations where they have 
been scattered^ they have found no ease^ neither has the 
sole of their foot found rest ; but the Lord has given 
them a trembling hearty and failing of eyes^ and sor- 
row of mind ; their lives have hung in doubt ^ and they 
have had fear day and nighty and none assurance of 
life ; they have been carried into Egypt in ships^ and 
offered for sale as bondmen ; and yet no man would 
buy them ; and yet^ for all this^ according to his 
promise^ the Lord has not cast them away and utterly 
•destroyed thtm^ nor broken his covenant ivith them ; 
but he still preserves them^ a distinct people^ — the only 
people under heaven that has been preserved under 
similar circumstances, furnishing a pledge of the cer- 
tain fulfilment of the prophecies that yet remain to be 
accomplished in their restoration. 

The infidel, Volney, in his travels, has been uncon- 
sciously the instrument of fulfilling a part of this 
prophecy. Moses says, the stranger that shall come 
from a far land shall say, " Wherefore hath the Lord 
11 



122 MOSES, CONCERNING THE JEWS. 

done this unto this land ? What meaneth the heat of 
his great anger ?" Volney, on viewing the ruins of 
Palestine and the adjacent countries, exclaims almost 
in the words of Moses, " Great God ! from whence 
proceed such melancholy revolutions ? For what 
cause is the fortune of these countries so strikingly 
changed ? Why are so many cities destroyed ? Why 
is not that ancient population reproduced and perpetu- 
ated ?" 

The condition of the Jews furnishes from age to 
age a standing miracle, to attest the truth of his word ; 
and the facts that have been presented furnish de- 
monstrative proof of the inspiration of Moses ; and of 
course proves that the first five books of the Bible 
are a revelation from God ; and this is a strong pre- 
sumptive evidence of the truth and inspiration of the 
whole Scriptures, as they all constitute the parts of a 
grand system, the foundation of which was laid in the 
Mosaic history. 

I know it has been asserted that we have no evi- 
dence that Moses wrote all these books ; and that the 
facts stated in the first chapter of Genesis are contrary 
to the discoveries of science. In my second chapter, 
I think I proved sufficiently the authenticity of all the 
books of the Bible ; and I now deny that there is any 
contradiction between the discoveries of science and 
the facts stated in the first chapter of Genesis ; but on 
this point I am not called upon to exhibit proof, in 
opposition to a bare assertion, — it belongs to those 
who have made the assertion alluded to, to show 
wherein these contradictions consist. It does not 
belong to me to prove a negative ; but if it did, I 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 123 

have room in this place only to say that no objections 
can be valid against the inspiration of a book that con- 
tains so many predictions of future events, the evi- 
dence of the fulfilment of which is so unanswerable 
and overwhelming. 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

The facts presented in this chapter furnish an awful 
warning against apostasy. Moses says it shall be in- 
quired, '' Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto 
this land ? And what meaneth the heat of his great 
anger ?" And that men shall answer and say, '' Be- 
cause they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord 
God of their fathers." They broke their covenant, 
forsook the Lord, and rejected the Messiah, the 
Saviour of the world, — the promise of their fathers. 
But they did no more than every member of a Chris- 
tian church does, who violates his covenant vows, 
forsakes the service of God and the ordinances of his 
house, and goes back to the service of sin and Satan. 
Nay, they did no more than is done by every baptized 
child of Christian parents, w^ho forsakes the covenant 
of his fathers, refuses to ratify its vows, and grows up 
in the persevering rejection of the Saviour. And if 
God spared not his own chosen people, the children 
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when they forsook his 
covenant, and cast off their vows, but pursued them 
with such awful judgments from generation to genera- 
tion, do you think that you shall escape, who are 
guilty of the same sin, under the full blaze of gospel 



124 PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

light ? Though you may escape temporal calamities 
in this life, you surely will not escape in that day, 
when the " sinners in Zion shall be afraid, and fear- 
fulness shall surprise the hypocrites." If, then, the 
apostate Jews shall dwell with devouring fire, apos- 
tate Christians must sink down still deeper in eternal 
burnings. It is a fearful thing to trifle with solemn 
covenant relations, — lightly to cast off or violate sol- 
emn vows, — or to despise or neglect great privileges. 
We have an awful example of it in the history of the 
Jews ; and yet we are as highly exalted above them 
in privileges as they were above the heathen. More- 
over, it is mentioned as one of the sins which pro- 
voked the Lord to cast off his ancient covenant peo- 
ple, that they ^' rebelled and vexed his Holy Spirit." 
And we have reason to believe that many churches 
have been forsaken of God, and left to spiritual deso- 
lations no less dreadful, by grieving his Holy Spirit. 
How often has God come nigh to his people, and, as 
it were, overshadowed them with a cloud of mercy, 
and they have not been ready to receive it ; and by 
their opposition, their indifference, their negligence, 
or their love of ease, they have suffered it to pass by, 
leaving the garden of the Lord without spiritual rain, 
desolate and dry. They have '^rebelled and vexed his 
Holy Spirit ;" and unless they repent, and humble 
themselves before God, they have reason to fear that 
he will turn to be tlieir enemy, and leave them, as he 
did his people of old, to utter desolation. About 
forty years ago the Lord poured out his Spirit with 
mighty power, in an extensive region of the western 
country. Sinners bowed themselves, and in great 



PRACTICAL REMARKS* 125 

numbers submitted to God, and received Jesus as 
their Saviour. But there was one denomination of 
Christians ,---^a denomination, too, which held an ortho- 
dox faith,— who opposed this work. They set apart 
days of fasting and prayer, to mourn on account of its 
prevalence. It was the opinion of a venerable father 
in the ministry, who labored much in this work, that 
they then grieved the Holy Spirit. Since that period 
the dews of heavenly grace appear to have ceased to 
distil upon them. They have been left for forty 
years to a form of godliness, without the power 
thereof ; and they now have all the marks of a people 
forsaken of the Lord. And who will say that it was 
not resisting and vexing the Holy Spirit, which caused 
the Lord to forsake so many of the churches founded 
by our Pilgrim fathers in our beloved New England, 
and leave them to the sweeping desolations of error, 
which have, in many places, extinguished the last 
flickering ray of piety among them ? Who will iday 
that it was not because his people would not prepare 
his way, when he came among them ? And who will 
say that it w^as not because those who sat under the 
sound of the gospel, would not listen to the voice of 
entreaty and persuasion, and receive the truth and 
love the Saviour ; and that, therefore, the Lord took 
from them the blessings which they despised ? It be- 
comes us to search our own hearts, and see if we 
have not rebelled against the motions of the Holy 
Spirit, calling us to prayer and effort for his glory, — 
whether we have not hindered the revival of his work 
in time past, and whether we are not now hindering 

his work. Has he been grieved away from our 
11* 



126 PRACTICAL REMARKS, 

hearts heretofore ? And will he come again unless we 
repent, and remove every thing offensive to him, and 
prepare him a place in our hearts ? And shall it be, 
that when he comes among us, like Noah's dove, he 
shall find no rest for the sole of his foot, and shall 
depart from us, vexed and grieved by our rebellion, 
unbelief, and hardness of heart ? And what will be the 
consequence ? We have heard what he did to his an- 
cient people. Terrible, indeed, have been his judg- 
ments upon them. But all the earthly calamities 
which they have endured, are nothing compared with 
the calamity of being deserted by the Holy Spirit. 
If the Spirit of God should leave us, when we come to 
the sanctuary, our hearts will be hard ; we shall be 
left to barren ordinances, — a deathlike stupor and 
coldness will come over us ; there will be no impres- 
sion of the word ; no edification ; no progress in holi- 
ness ^ no comfort in divine worship ; every interest 
of Zion will languish ; there will be no increase of 
the church ; but there will be grievous declension and 
apostasy ; many will fall and dishonor their profession ; 
no sinners will be converted ; there will be no con- 
viction, unless in the shape of remorse and fearful 
foreboding. Our children, who have been baptized 
and brought under the covenant, will perhaps be left 
to ruin in this life ; and we may be compelled in bitter 
anguish, to stand by their bedside, and see them die 
in their sins, and perish without hope. All our friends 
and acquaintances,—- all these souls around us, will be 
lost. And, finally, we shall be left to utter desola- 
tion. All the piety will die out of the church, as it 
has out of many old churches around us ; and the ia- 



M ACTIO AL REMARKS. I27 

stitutions which we have fostered with so much care, 
with the hope of benefitting our children, will be re- 
duced to the same level with those which we have left, 
because God has deserted them. Yet if we continue 
to grieve the Holy Spirit, what is to hinder this re- 
sult ? " For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, 
and every transgression and disobedience received a 
just recompense of rew^ard, how shall we escape, if 
we neglect so great salvation ; which at the first began 
to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us 
by them that heard him ; God also bearing them wit- 
ness, with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles 
and gifts of the Holy Ghost ?" 



128 FULFILMENT OF PREDICTIONS 



CHAPTER V. 



Thk Fourth Pillar, continued. — Fulfilment of 
Predictions given by the Prophets^ and by Christ 
and his Jlpostles, 

To prove that the prophets and Jtpostles were in- 
spired, and that Jesus predicted future events, it is not 
necessary to show that all their predictions have come 
to pass, because for some of them the time has not 
yet come ; nor have I space to mention all that have 
been fulfilled, but shall be able only to present a selec^ 
tion of a few among the many ; and I shall begin with 
a comparison of the predictions of the prophets, with 
the accounts of travellers respecting the appearance of 
things in those places concerning which prophecies 
have been uttered ; leaving those which relate to the 
Coming of Christ for a separate consideration. 

My principal quotations will be from '' Volney's 
Ruins ;" and he, being an infidel writer, will not be 
suspected of a design to show the fulfilment of the 
prophecies of the Bible* 

Moses says, in reference to the dispersion of the 
Jews, " The land, — shall enjoy her Sabbaths, while 
she lieth desolate ;" and Isaiah says, " Your land, 



CONCERNING PALESTINE. 129 

Strangers devour it, and it is desolate as overthrown 
by strangers."* 

Volney says, in his travels in Palestine, ''Every 
day I found in my route, fields abandoned by the 
plough ;" and, in describing it, he calls it ''this deso- 
late country," using the same word employed by 
Moses and Isaiah, in their predictions concerning it. 
He also says that, within two thousand five hundred 
years, there have been ten invasions, which have in- 
troduced into Syria a succession of foreign nations ; 
thus literally fulfilling the prediction that strangers 
should overthrow and devour the land. 

Jeremiah says, in reference to the land of Israel, 
" destruction upon destruction is cried ;" Ezekiel 
says, "Mischief shall come upon mischief;" and 
Joel says, " A nation is come upon my land, strong 
and without number,"! 

Volney says, " Syria became a province of the 
Roman empire. In the year 636, the Arabian tribes, 
collected under the banners of Mohammed, seized 
upon it, and laid it waste. Since that period, it has 
been torn to pieces by civil wars, wrested, from the 
caliphs by their rebellious governors, taken from them 
by the Turkmen soldiery, invaded by the European 
crusaders, retaken by the Mamelukes of Egypt, and 
ravaged by Tamerlane and his Tartars, till at length it 
has fallen into the hands of the Ottoman Turks." So 
that, according to his testimony, destruction upon de- 
struction, and mischief upon mischief, and nations 

* Lev. xxvi, 43. Is. i, 7. 

t Jer. iv, 20. Ezek. vii, 21, 26. Joel i, 6. 



130 FULFILMENT OF PREDICTIONS 

Strong and without number, have come upon the 
land. 

Ezekiel says the land shall be delivered into the 
hands of the wicked for a spoils and that the robbers 
shall enter into it and defile it."^ Volney says that when 
the Ottomans took Syria, they considered it only as 
the spoil of a vanquished enemy, the lives and pro- 
perty of the vanquished belonging to the conquerors ; 
and that the government is far from disproving a sys- 
tem of robbery and plunder. 

Ezekiel says, '^ The holy places shall be defiled ;" 
and Volney says that, in his day, " The holy places 
were polluted with the monuments of idolatry. The 
Mosque of Omar now stands on the site of the Tem- 
ple of Solomon." 

It was predicted, both by Jeremiah and Micah, that 
Zion should be ploughed over like a field. f Gibbon, 
the infidel historian, says that after the final destruc- 
tion of the temple by the Romans, a ploughshare was 
drawn over the consecrated ground, as a sign of per- 
petual interdiction. And Richardson, in his travels, 
says that at the time he visited Mount Zion, one part 
of it supported a crop of barley, while another was 
undergoing the labor of the plough. 

Jeremiah says, '' Every one that passeth by the 
land shall be astonished, ''^^ ^' So feeble a population, 
in so excellent a country," says the traveller, " may 
well excite our astonishment.'^^ Isaiah says, in his 

»Ezek. vii, 21, 22. 

t Jer. XX vi, 18. Mic. iii, 12. 

% Jer. xviii, 16. 



CONCERNING PALESTINE. 131 

prophetic view of the desolation of the land, '' The 
wayfaring man ceaseth."^ Volney says, ^''Nobody 
travels alone. Between town and town there are 
neither posts nor public conveyances." 

Moses says, in the name of the Lord, '' And I will 
make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto 
desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your 
sweet odours." Isaiah says, '^ The palaces shall be 
forsaken." Ezekiel says, '^ I will destroy the rem- 
nant of the seacoast." Moses says, '' I will make 
your cities waste;" and Isaiah says 'Hhere shall be 
few men left."f Volney says, '' The temples are 
thrown down ; the palaces demolished ; the ports 
filled up ; the towns destroyed ; and the earth, 
stripped of its inhabitants, seems a dreary burying 
place." 

Isaiah says, " Because they have transgressed the 
law, changed the ordinances, broken the everlasting 
covenant, therefore hath the curse devoured the 
earth. J" Dr. Clarke, in his travels, says that ^' The 
pure gospel of Christ is almost as little known in the 
Holy Land as in California or New Holland ;" and 
Volney says, ^' God has, doubtless, pronounced a 
secret malediction (or curse) against the earth." 

Isaiah, in vision says, "- The vine languisheth, and 
strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it." 
Volney says, that in the mountains they do not prune 
the vines ; and travellers agree in pronouncing the 

* Isa. xxxiii, 8. 

t Lev. xxvi, 31. Isa. xxxii, 14 ; xxiv, 6. Ezek. zxv, 16. 

t Isa. xxiv, 5, 6, 9. 



132 FULFILMENT OF PREDICTIONS 

wine drank in Jerusalem to be the very worst that is 
to be met with in any country. 

Isaiah says again, " All the merry-hearted do sigh. 
The mirth of tabrets ceaseth ; the joy of the harp 
ceaseth. The noise of them that rejoice endeth ; all 
joy is darkened ; the mirth of the land is gone."=*^ 
Volney says the Arabs, in singing, excel most in the 
melancholy strain. To hear their plaintive tones, 
their sighs and sobs, it is almost impossible to refrain 
from tears. They have no music but vocal, for they 
neither know nor esteem instrumental music. They 
have a serious, sad, and melancholy countenance. 
They rarely laugh ; and the gaity of the French seems 
to them a fit of delirium." Could any description 
answer more exactly to the prophecy ? 

Isaiah says again, '' Upon the land of my people 
shall come up thorns and briars ; the forts and towers 
shall be dens forever." Volney says, '' The earth 
produces only briars and wormwood," — ^' At every 
step we met with ruins of towers, dungeons, and cas- 
tles, frequently inhabited by jackals, owls, and scor- 
pions." The prophet says, " It is a people of no 
understanding ;"f and the traveller says, '' The most 
simple arts are in a state of barbarism rT^he sciences 
are totally unknown." The prophet says, '' No flesh 
shall have peace ;":j: and the traveller (Volney) says, 
'' War, famine, and pestilence assail them at every 
turn." 

Ezekiel says, '' Thus saith the Lord God, of the 
inhabitants of Jerusalem and of the land of Israel, they 
shall eat their bread with carefulness, and drink their 

* Isa. xxiv, 8, 11. t Isa. xxvii, 11. t Jer, xii, 12. 



CONCERNING PALESTINE. I33 

water with astonislmjent ; that her land may be deso- 
late from all that is therein, because of the violence of 
all them that dwell therein."^' Volney says, ^' The 
peasants are every where reduced to a little cake of 
barley, and to onions, lentils, and water." ^' Dread 
prevails throughout the villages ; and the arbitrary 
power of the Sultan gives rise to a tyranny which cir- 
culates through every class, and which is every where 
fatal to agriculture, the arts, commerce, and popu- 
lation." 

The prophet says, '' The cities that are inhabited 
shall be laid waste," — -The traveller says, ''Every 
day I found in my route villages deserted and cities 
in ruins." 

The prophet Amos says, '' The city that went out 
by a thousand shall leave a hundred."! A traveller 
says, '' A tract from which a hundred individuals 
draw a scanty subsistence, formerly maintained thou- 
sands." 

The prophet Micah says, '' I will make Samaria 
as a heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard. "| 
Maundrell, in his travels, says, in regard to the same 
place, '' This great city is wholly converted into gar- 
dens." 

The prophet Zephaniah says, in reference to the 
land of the Philistines, '' The seacoast shall be dwell- 
ings and cottages for shepherds and folds for flocks :"§ 

The reader is requested to read the whole of the several pro- 
phecies concerning Edom, referred to. 

* Ezek. xii, 19, 20. t Amos v, 3. 

t Mi. i, 6. § Zeph. ii, 5, 6, 

12 



134 FULFILMENT OF PREDICTIONS 

and Volney, speaking of the plain of the Philistines, 
along the seacoast, says, '' The houses are so many 
huts. In winter, they and their cattle may be said to 
live together, the part of the dwelling allotted to them- 
selves being only raised two feet above that in which 
they lodge their beasts." All the rest of Philistia, he 
says, is a desert ; and this is predicted by the prophet 
Amos : — '' The remnant of the Philistines shall per- 
ish."^ 

Amos also says, ^^ I will send a fire upon Gaza, 
which shall devour the palaces thereof y" and Volney 
says that "the ruins of white marble at Gaza prove 
that it was formerly the abode of luxury and opu- 
lence. ^^ 

The prophets I&aiah and Zechariah predict the de- 
struction of the cedars of Lebanon ^ and say that the 
trees that remain shall be so few that a child might 
write them ; and Volney speaks of the remains of the 
boasted cedars, and says, " there are but four or five 
of these trees which deserve any notice." 

Ezekiel says, in regard to the land of the children 
of Ammon, " I will stretch out my hand upon thee, 
I will destroy thee, I will deliver thee for a spoil to 
the heathen. f Seetzen, in his travels, says, in regard 
to the same, " All this country, formerly so populous 
and flourishing, is now changed into a vast desert, 
abandoned to the wandering Arabs-" 

The same prophet says concerning Rabbah, the 
chief city of the Ammonites, "I will make Rabbah 
a stable for camels, and a crouching place for flocks. "| 

♦ Amos i> 8. t Ezek. xxv, 7. t Ezek. xxv, 5. 



CONCERNING EDOM. 135 

The same traveller says, '' We met numbers of 
Arabs, with their camels. The keepers drive in 
goats for shelter during the night." Jeremiah says, 
^'Rabbah shall become an heap," and Burckhardt, in 
his travels, says, '' The buildings exposed to the at- 
mosphere are all in decay. The plain is covered 
with the remains of private buildings." 

There is a similar agreement between the prophe- 
cies and accounts of travellers respecting the land of 
Moab ; but I pass them by for want of space. There 
are also many prophecies concerning Edom, which 
the same comparison shows to have been exactly ful- 
eiled. 

Jeremiah says of Edom, '' I will make thee 
small among the heathen : thy terribleness hath de- 
ceived thee, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the 
Rock, that boldest the height of the hill ; though thou 
shouldst make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will 
bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord. Also, 
Edom shall be a desolation."^ The travellers, Irby 
and Mangles, say, '' The ruins of the city of Petra 
burst on the view in their full grandeur, shut in on the 
opposite side by barren, craggy precipices, from 
which numerous ravines and precipices branch out in 
all directions ; the sides of the mountains covered with 
an endless variety of excavated tombs and private 
dwellings, presented altogether a most singular appear- 
ance." Mackmichael says, '' The rocks are hollow- 
ed out into innumerable chambers, of different dimen- 
sions." '' Some of them," says Burckhardt, ''are so 

♦ Jer. ilix, 15, 16, 17. 



136 FULFILMENT OF PREDICTIONS 

high, and the sides of the mountain so perpendicular, 
that it seems impossible to approach the uppermost ;'^ 
showing that the kings of Edom did, according to the 
prophet, literally dwell in the clefts of the rock. Isa- 
iah says, in reference to this city, ''They shall call 
the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be 
there ; and all her princes shall be nothing."* Irby and 
Mangles say, '' There is not a single human being living 
near it ;" and Burckhardt says, '' The sepulchres are 
numerous and magnificent, and great must have been 
the opulence of a city which could dedicate such a 
monument to the memory of its rulers." Isaiah says 
again, '' Thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles, 
and brambles in the fortresses thereof."* Travellers, 
(Irby and Mangles and Laborde,) say, '' Most of the 
plants at Petra are thorny. The thorns rise to the 
same height as the columns ; creeping and prickly 
plants hide the works of man ; the thorn or bramble 
reaches the top of the monuments, grows on the cor- 
nices, and conceals the base of the columns." The 
prophet says, '' The cormorant shall possess it." 
Burckhardt says this bird is found there in immense 
numbers. The prophet says, '' The owl shall dwell 
in it." Irby and Mangles say, "Eagles, hawks, and 
owls, were soaring in considerable numbers above our 
beads, seemingly annoyed at any one approaching their 
lonely habitation." The prophet says, '' The rav^en 
(or crow) shall dwell in it." Burckhardt says the 
fields in the immediate vicinity are frequented by an 
immense number of crows. The prophet says, '' It 

* Isa. xxxiv, 12, 13. 



CONCERNING EDOM, 137 

shall be an habitation for dragons." Volney says the 
Arabs av^oid these ruins, on account of the enormous 
scorpions with which they sw^arm. 

The exact and literal fulfilment of the following 
prediction is very remarkable, and worthy of special 
notice : — Isaiah says concerning Edom, " J^one shall 
pass through it^ far ever and ever ;" and Ezekiel says, 
^' I will cut off from Mount Seir him that passeth out^ 
and him that returneth,"^^* Edom, or Idumea, at the 
time these predictions were uttered, formed the em- 
porium of the commerce of the East ; and long after 
that time, Roman roads were made through that coun- 
try, from Jerusalem to Akaba, and from Akaba to 
Moab. The Idumeans were both an opulent and a 
powerful people ; and they flourished hundreds of 
years after this prophecy was given. At the time of 
the destruction of Jerusalem the Idumeans were nearly 
as numerous as the Jews. Yet now it is utterly des- 
olate. Another prediction declares that " every one 
that goeth by shall be astonished ;" intimating, in con- 
nection with this, that travellers should pass by^ but 
not pass through it. Volney says, '' This country 
has not been visited by any traveller ; but from the 
reports of the Arabs, there are, within three days' 
journey, upw^ards of thirty ruined towns, absolutely 
deserted,'^^ Burckhardt entered the territories of the 
Edomites on the northeast ; but soon after found him- 
self without protection, in the midst of a desert, where 
no traveller had ever before been seen ; and it was 
then, he says, the first time that he had ever felt fear, 



* Isa. xxxiv, 10, Ezek. xxxy, 7. 

12* 



138 FULFILMENT OF PREDICTIONS 

during his travels in the desert, and his route there was 
the most dangerous he had ever travelled. Mr. Jo- 
lifFe, another traveller, speaking of this country, says 
it is " one of the wildest and most dangerous divisions 
of Arabia, and that any research in that quarter was 
impracticable. Cavaliere Fredani attempted to pass 
through Edom ; but after spending five weeks in fruit- 
less attempts, was compelled to abandon the enter- 
prize. Sir Frederick Henniker made the attempt, 
having with great difficulty prevailed on guides to ac- 
company him ; but they deceived him, and led him 
towards the Mediterranean coast, through the desert, 
to Gaza. Irby and Mangles attempted to approach 
Idumea, in the direction nearest to Judea, and appar- 
ently most accessible. The Turkish authorities, at 
Constantinople, Damascus, Jerusalem, Jaffa, and He- 
bron, all refused to afford them any protection. But 
they provided themselves with horses, arms, and Arab 
dresses, being eleven in number, including servants 
and guides. An Arab tribe agreed to protect them 
to Kerek, but no money would induce them to con- 
duct them to any place within the territory of Edom. 
Having afterwards obtained the protection of an in- 
trepid Arab chief, with his followers, and having ad- 
vanced to the borders of Edom, their further progress 
was suddenly opposed, in the most threatening and de- 
termined manner. And in the whole course of their 
travels, which extended to about three thousand miles, 
in Thrace, Asia Minor, Cyprus, the desert, Egypt, 
and in Syria, — they found nowhere such a barrier to 
their progress, except in a previous abortive attempt 
to reach Petra from another quarter ; and though they 



CONCERNING EDOM. 139 

Were never better prepared for encountering it, they 
never elsewhere experienced so formidable an oppo- 
sition. The Sheikh of Wada Mousa, and his people, 
swore that they would not suffer them to go forward, 
and that they should neither drink of their water, nor 
pass into their territory. The Arab chief, who had 
espoused their cause, swore ''by the faith of a true 
Mussulman," that they should drink of the water of 
Wada Mousa, and go whithersoever he pleased to carry 
them. Several days were passed in entreaties, arti- 
fices, and mutual menaces, which were all equally una- 
vailing. The determination and perseverance of the 
one party of Arabs was equalled by the resistance and 
obstinacy of the other. Both were constantly ac- 
quiring an accession of strength, and actively prepar- 
ing for combat. The travellers offered to abandon 
their object, rather than proceed to extremities. 
They were told that they were fortunate in the pro- 
tection of the chief who accompanied them, or they 
never would have returned. The hostile Arabs, who 
defied them and their protectors to approach, having 
abandoned their camps, and concentrated their forces, 
and possessed themselves of passes and heights, sent 
messengers with a renewal of oaths and protestations 
against entering their territory^ declaring that they 
should be shot like so many dogs ; but the chief who 
accompanied the travellers was resolute, and threat- 
ened war, if they were not permitted to proceed. 
They were at last allowed to proceed ; but only a 
brief space w^as allowed them for inspecting the ruins, 
and they could plainly distinguish the opposing party 
of Arabs, in great numbers, watching: them from the 



140 FULFILMENT OF PREDtCTIONS 

heights. Their protector was then dismayed,— he 
was never at ease, and constantly urged them to de-* 
part. Nothing could obtain an extension of the time 
allotted them, and they returned, leaving much unex- 
plored, and even unable, by any means or possibility, 
to penetrate a little farther, in order to visit a large 
temple, which they could distinctly discern. Through 
Idumea they did not pass. Thus Volney, Burckhardt, 
Joliffe, Henniker, and Irby and Mangles, not only 
give their personal testimony to the truth of the fact, 
which fulfils the prediction, but also adduce a variety 
of circumstances, which all conspire to prove that 
Idumea is so beset on every side with danger to the 
traveller, that none pass through it. Even the Arabs 
of the neighboring regions, whose home is the desert, 
and whose occupation is wandering, are afraid to enter 
it, or to conduct any one within its borders. Seetzen 
did indeed pass through Idumea, and Burckhardt trav- 
ersed a considerable part of it. But the former met 
his death not long after the completion of his journey, 
and the latter never recovered from the hardships and 
privations which he suffered there, and, some time 
after, died in consequence, at Cairo ; thus verifying 
that part of prophecy, which says, " I will cut off 
from Mount Seir him that passeth out and him that 
returneth,^^ 

" Edom shall be a desolation. From generation to 
generation it shall lie waste^ ^c. Judea, Ammon, 
and Moab exhibit so abundantly the remains and the 
means of an exuberant fertility, that the wonder arises 
in the reflective mind, how the barbarity of man could 
have so effectually counteracted for so " many gener- 



CONCERNING EDOM. 141 

tions" the prodigality of nature. But such is Edom's 
desolation, that the first sentiment of astonishment on 
the contemplation of it is, how a wide-extended re- 
gion, now diversified by the strongest features of desert 
wildness, could ever have been adorned with cities, 
or tenanted for ages by a powerful and opulent people. 
Its present aspect would behe its ancient history, 
were not that history corroborated by '' the many ves- 
tiges of former cultivation," by the remains of walls 
and paved roads, and by the ruins of cities still exist- 
ing in this ruined country. 

*' The total cessation of its commerce, — the artifi- 
cial irrigation of its valleys wholly neglected, — the de- 
struction of all the cities, and the continued spoliation 
of the country by the Arabs while aught remained 
that they could destroy, — the permanent exposure, 
for ages, of the soil, unsheltered by its ancient groves, 
and unprotected by any covering from the scorching 
rays of the sun, — the unobstructed encroachments of 
the desert, and of the drifted sands from the borders of 
the Red Sea^ the consequent absorption of the water of 
the springs and streamlets during summer, are causes 
which have all combined their baneful operation in 
rendering Edom most desolate^ the desolation of deso- 
lations, Volney's account is sufficiently descriptive 
of the desolation which now reigns over Idumea ; and 
the information which Seetzen derived at Jerusalem 
respecting it, is of similar import. He was told, that 
'' at the distance of two days' journey and a half from 
Hebron he would find considerable ruins of the ancient 
city of Abde, and that for all the rest of the journey 
he would see no place of habitation ; he would meet 



142 FULFILMENT OF PREDICTIONS 

only with a few tribes of wandering Arabs." From 
the borders of Edom Captains Irby and Mangles be- 
held a boundless extent of desert view, which they 
had hardly ever seen equalled for singularity and gran- 
deur. And the following extract, descriptive of what 
Burckhardt actually witnessed in the different parts of 
Edom, cannot be more graphically abbreviated than in 
the words of the prophet. Of its eastern boundary, 
and of the adjoining part of Arabia Petraea, strictly so 
called, Burckhardt writes, — ' It might with truth be 
called Petraea, not only on account of its rocky moun- 
tains, but also of the elevated plain already described, 
which is so much covered with stones, especially flints, 
that it may with great propriety be called a stony desert, 
although susceptible of culture ; in many places it is 
overgrown with wild herbs, and must once have been 
thickly inhabited ; for the traces of many towns and 
villages are met with on both sides of the Hadj road, 
between Maan and Akaba, as well as between Maan 
and the plains of the Hauran, in which direction are 
also many springs. At present all this country is a 
desert, and Maan (Teman) is the only inhabited place 
in it. / will stretch out my hand against thee^ O 
Mount Seir^ and ivill make thee most desolate, I will 
stretch out my hand upon Edom^ and will make it 
desolate from Teman,'^ 

'' In the interior of Idumea, where the ruins of 
some of its ancient cities are still visible, and in the 
extensive valley which reaches from the Red to the 
Dead Sea, — the appearance of which must now be 
totally and sadly changed from what it was, — ' the 
whole plain presented to the view an expanse of shift- 



CONCERNING EDOM. I43 

ing sands, whose surface was broken by innumerable 
undulations and low hills. The sand appears to have 
been brought from the shores of the Red Sea by the 
southern winds ; and the Arabs told me that the val- 
leys continue to present the same appearance beyond 
the latitude of Wada Mousa. In some parts of the 
valley the sand is very deep, and there is not the 
slightest appearance of a road, or of any work of hu- 
man art. A few trees grow among the sand-hills, but 
the depth of sand precludes all vegetation o( herbage,'' 
If grape-gatherers come to thee^ would they not leave 
some gleaning of grapes 9 if thieves by nighty they will 
destroy till they have enough; but I have made Esau 
BARE. Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, ' On 
ascending the western plain, on a higher level than 
that of Arabia, we had before us an immense expanse 
of dreary country, entirely covered with black flints, 
with here and there some hilly chain rising from the 
plain.' / will stretch out upon Idumea the line of con" 
fusion^ and the stones of emptiness, 

"Of the remains of ancient cities still exposed to 
view in different places throughout Idumea, Burckhardt 
describes ' the ruins of a large town, of which nothing 
remains but broken walls and heaps of stones ; the 
ruins of several villages in its vicinity ; the ruins of an 
ancient city, consisting of large heaps of hewn blocks 
of silicious stone ; the extensive ruins of Gherandel 
Arindela, an ancient town of Palestina Tertia.' 

" Burckhardt gives a description of no ordinary inter- 
est, of the site of an ancient city which he visited, the 
ruins of which not only attest its ancient splendor, 
but they ' are entitled to rank among the most curious 



144 FULFILMENT OF PREDICTIONS 

remains of ancient art.' Though the city be deso- 
late, the monuments of its opulence and power are 
durable. These are, — a channel on each side of the 
river for conveying the water to the city, — numerous 
tombs, — above two hundred and fifty sepulchres, or 
excavations, — many mausoleums, one, in particular, 
of colossal dimensions, in perfect preservation, and a 
work of immense labor, containing a chamber sixteen 
paces square and above twenty-five feet in height, with 
a colonnade in front thirty -five feet high, crowned with 
a pediment highly ornamented, &c. ; two large trunc- 
ated pyramids, and a theatre with all its benches, capa- 
ble of containing about three thousand spectators, all 
cut out of the rock. In some places these sepulchres 
are excavated one over the other, and the side of the 
mountain is so perpendicuhr^ tha.t it seems impossible 
to approach the uppermost^ no path whatever being 
visible. ' The ground is covered with heaps of hewn 
stones, foundations of buildings, fragments of colimms, 
and vestiges of paved streets, all clearly indicating that 
a large city once existed here. On the left bank of 
the river is a rising ground, extending westward for 
nearly three quarters of a mile, entirely covered with 
similar remains. On the right bank, where the ground 
is more elevated, ruins of the same description are to 
be seen. There are also the remains of a palace, and 
of several temples. In the eastern cliff there are up- 
wards of fifty separate sepulchres close to each other.' 
These are not the s}'mbols of a feeble race, nor of a 
people that were to perish utterly. But a judgment 
was denounced against the strongholds of Edom. 
The prophetic threatening has not proved an empty 



CONCERNING EDOM. I45 

toast, and it could not have been the word of an unin- 
spired mortal. / will make thee small among the 
heathen ; thy terribleness hath deceived thee and the 
pride of thine hearty O thou that dwellest in the clefts 
of the rockj that holdest the height of the hill ; though 
thou shouldst make thy nest as high as the eagle^ I will 
bring thee down from thence^ saith the Lord : also 
Edom shall be a desolation. 

'' The name of this capital, in all the various lan- 
guages in which it occurs, implies a rock, and as such 
it is described in the Scriptures, in Strabo and M 
Edrissi. 

"Captains Irby and Mangles, having, together with 
Mr. Bankes and Mr. Legh, spent two days in dili- 
gently examining them, give a more particular detail 
of the ruins of Petra than Burckhardt's account sup- 
plied ; and the more full the description, the more 
precise and wonderful does the prophecy appear. Near 
the spot where they awaited the decision of the Arabs, 
' the high land was covered upon both its sides, and 
on its summits, with lines and solid masses of dry 
wall. The former appeared to be traces of ancient 
cultivation, the solid ruins seemed to be only the re- 
mains of towers for watching in harvest and vintage 
time. The whole neighborhood of the spot bears 
similar traces of former industry, all which seemed to 
indicate the vicinity of a great metropolis.' A nar- 
row and circuitous defile, surrounded on each side by 
precipitous or perpendicular rocks, varying from four 
hundred to seven hundred feet in altitude, and forming 
for two miles, 'a sort of subterranean passage,' opens 
>on the east the way to the ruins of Petra- The rocks, 
13 



146 FULFILMENT OF PREDICTIONS 

or rather hills, then diverge on either side, and leave 
an oblong space, where once stood the metropolis of 
Edom, deceived by its terribleness, where now lies a 
waste of ruins, encircled on every side, save on the 
northeast alone, by stupendous cliffs, which still show 
how the pride and labor of art tried there to vie with 
the sublimity of nature. Along the borders of these 
cliffs, detached masses of rock, numerous and lofty, 
have been wrought into sepulchres, the interior of 
which is excavated into chambers, while the exterior 
has been cut from the live rock into the forms of tow- 
ers, with pilasters, and successive bands of frieze and 
entablature, wings, recesses, figures of animals, and 
columns. 

'' Yet numerous as these are, they form but a part 
of ' the vast necropolis of Petra.' ' Tombs present 
themselves, not only in every avenue to the city, and 
upon every precipice that surrounds it, but even inter- 
mixed almost promiscuously with its public and do- 
mestic edifices ; the natural features of the defile grew 
more and more imposing at every step, and the exca- 
vations and sculpture more frequent on both sides, till 
it presented at last a continued street of tombs. ^ The 
base of the cliffs wrought out in all the symmetry 
and regularity of art, with colonnades, and pedestals, 
and ranges of corridors adhering to the perpendicular 
surface ; flights of steps chiselled out of the rock ; 
grottoes in great numbers, ' which are certainly not 
sepulchral ;' some excavated residences of large di- 
mensions (in one of which is a single chamber sixty 
feet in length, and of a breadth proportioned ;) many 
other dwellings of inferior note, particularly abundant 



CONCERNING EDOM. I47 

in one defile leading to the city, the steep sides of 
which contain a sort of excavated suburb, accessible 
by flights of steps ; niches, sometimes thirty feet m 
excavated height, with altars for votive offerings, or 
with pyramids, columns, or obelisks ; a bridge across 
a chasm now apparently inaccessible ; some small py- 
ramids hewn out of the rock on the summit of the 
heights ; horizontal grooves, for the conveyance of 
water, cut in the face of the rock, and even across the 
architectural fronts of some of the excavations ; and, 
in short, ' the rocks hollowed out into innumerable 
chambers of different dimensions, whose entrances are 
variously, richly, and often fantastically decorated with 
every imaginable order of architecture,' — all united, 
not only form one of the most singular scenes that the 
eye of man ever looked upon, or the imagination 
painted, — a group of wonders perhaps unparalleled in 
their kind, — ^but also give indubitable proof, both that 
in the land of Edom there was a city where human in- 
genuity, and energy, and power must have been ex- 
erted for many ages, and to so great a degree as to 
have well entitled it to be noted for its strength or 
terribleness^ and that the description given of it by the 
prophets of Israel was as strictly literal as the predic- 
tion respecting it is true. ' The barren state of the 
country, together with the desolate condition of the 
city, without a single human being living near it, 
seem,' in the words of those who were spectators of 
the scene, 'strongly to verify the judgment denounced 
against it.' O thou who divellest in the clefts of the 
rockj <^c. — Also Edom shall be a desolation^ ^c. 
''Of all the ruins of Petra, the mausoleums and 



148 FULFILMENT OF PREDICTIONS 

sepulchres are among the most remarkable, and they 
give the clearest indication of ancient and long-con- 
tinued royalty, and of courtly grandeur. Their im- 
mense number corroborates the accounts given of 
their successive kings and princes by Moses and 
Strabo ; though a period of eighteen hundred years 
intervened between the dates of their respective re- 
cords concerning them. The structure of the sepul- 
chres also shows that many of them are of a more re- 
cent date. ' Great,' says Burckhardt, ' must have 
been the opulence of a city which could dedicate such 
monuments to the memory of its rulers.' But the 
long line of the kings and of the nobles of Idumea has 
for ages been cut off; they are without any represen- 
tative now, without any memorial but the multitude 
and the magnificence of their unvisited sepulchres. 
They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom (or 
rather they shall call, or summon, the nobles thereof,) 
but there shall be no kingdom there^ and all her princes^ 
shall be nothing > 

'' Amid the mausoleums and sepulchres, the re- 
mains of temples or palaces, and the multiplicity of 
tombs, which all form, as it were, the grave of Idu- 
mea, where its ancient splendor is interred, there are 
edifices, the Roman and Grecian architecture of which 
decides that they were built long posterior to the era 
of the prophets. They shall build ^ but I will throw 
do'MJn."^ 

The next one I shall notice is in regard to Nine- 
Ych. The prophet Nahum says, ''He will make an 

^ Keith. 



CONCERNING NINEVEH.— TYRE. I49 

litter end of the place thereof. I will make thy grave, 
for thou art vile."* Mr. Buckingham says, vi^ith ref- 
erence to the site of ancient Nineveh, '^ The mounds 
show neither bricks, stones, nor other material for 
building ; but are in many places overgrown with 
grass." The same prophet says, ''She is empty, 
void, and waste ;" and Gibbon, the historian, says, 
"the city, and even the ruins, had long since disap- 
peared ; the vacant space afforded a spacious field for 
the operation of the two armies." 

The next prediction of which I shall speak is that 
concerning Tyre ; and I wish to call particular atten- 
tion to this, because the prophecy of Ezekiel concern- 
ing Tyre has been recently referred to in a lecture 
against the Bible, as a specimen of '' predictions that 
never came to pass." Let us now compare the words 
of the prophet with the language of the traveller, and 
we shall see how much dependence is to be placed 
on the assertions of the lecturer. The prophet Eze- 
kiel says, concerning Tyre, '' They shall destroy the 
walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers : I will 
also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the 
top of a rock. It shall be a place for the spreading 
of nets, in the midst of the sea."f Volney says that 
this proud city is reduced to a miserable village, 
whose Inhabitants live obscurely on the produce of 
their little ground and a trifling fishery ; and Bruce 
says, in the very words of the prophecy, that the site 
of this ancient city is a "rock whereon fishers dry 
their nets." Now, I ask if any man denies that this 

* Naham i, 8, 14 ; ii, 10. f Ezek. xxvi, 14. 

13* 



150 FULFILMENT OF PREDICTIONS 

prophecy has been fulfilled, is his word to be relied 
on for any historical fact ? 

The sanne prophet likewise predicts concerning 
Egypt, that it shall be laid waste by the hand of 
strangers, and shall be the basest of kingdoms ; and 
history shows that for twenty-three centuries she has 
been deprived of her natural inhabitants, and left a 
prey successively to the Persians, Macedonians, Ro- 
mans, Greeks, Arabs, Georgians, and Turks. For 
two thousand years it has never had a prince of its 
own. 

The fulfilment of the prophecies concerning Baby- 
lon is still more remarkable. ^^ It is a well known 



* «^« Th6 lofty terms in which Babylon is described in Scripture, 
cotrespond with the accounts of profane writers. It is called by 
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel, * the golden city,' « the glory of 
kingdoms,' « abundant in treasures,' and « the praise of the whole 
earth.' Berosus, Herodotus, Strabo, and Diodorus Siculus, some 
of the most ancient and authentic writers, represent it as * the 
most glorious metropolis on which the sun ever shone, and rank it 
high amongthe wonders of the ancient world.' " . . . ** Ac- 
cording to the most authentic accounts that have come down to 
us, Babylon contained the astonishing space of sixty miles, and 
was adorned in every part with gardens, palaces, and temples. 
Around it were extended walls of stupendous height and thick- 
ness, composed of large bricks, cemented with bitumen, that by 
time acquired a solidity harder than stone. One hundred gates of 
solid brass, commanded the approaches to the city ; and two hun- 
dred and fifty towers, of vast dimensions and elevations, were placed 
at equal distances along the walls. The buildings most remarka- 
ble for size and magnificence were, the bridge erected over the 
Euphrates, the spaeiois^ palaces of the kings, and the ancient temple 
of Belus, composed of eight towers, rising one above another, and 
diminishing in proportion to their prodigious elevation. At a dis-^ 



CONCERNING BABYLON; I5I 

fact, recorded in profane history, that Babylon was 
taken by Cyrus, while Belshazzar and his nobles were 
indulging themselves in a drunken revel ; and that 
Cyrus effected an entrance into the city by turning the 
course of the river, which passed through the city, 
and passing under the wall, through the channel of the 
river. But this same event was most clearly and 
plainly predicted nearly two centuries previous. More 
than a century and a half before his birth, Cyrus was 
called by name, by the prophet Isaiah, and this very 
event, and the manner of it, predicted. '' Thus saith 
the Lord, — that saith to the deep. Be dry, and I will 
dry up thy rivers, — thus saith the Lord to his anoint- 
ed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden^ to sub- 
due nations before him ; and I will loose the loins of 
kings, to open before him the two leaved gates, "^ — 
the drying up of her rivers, indicating the manner in 
which he should effect an entrance into the city. But 
if the gates of the city, which led from the river to the 
streets, had been shut, Herodotus says " the Persians 
would have been shut up in the bed of the river, and 
taken as in a net, and all destroyed." But Belshaz 
zar, alarmed at the noise, ordered the gates of his pal- 

tance these edifices had the appearance of lofty mountains. They 
were calculated to brave the fiercest attacks of hostile power, and 
to withstand the ravages of remote ages." . . . . *< Yet 
this remarkable prophecy was uttered when it was rising to this 
state of grandeur, when the dominion of its sovereigns was spread- 
ing over the surrounding provinces, and power, opulence^ and 
prosperity combined to insure the long continuance of its empire 
and glory." — Kelt, 

* Isa. xliv, 27, 28 ; xlv, 1 ; xlvii, 11. 



152 FULFILMENT OF PREDICTIONS 

ace to be opened, and sent persons to inquire the 
cause. Thus the Lord opened before Cyrus the two^ 
leaved gates. His troops seized the advantage, rushed 
in and slew the king, and soon gained possession of 
the city. Thus exactly fulfilling the words of the 
prophet, '' Therefore evil came upon her, she did not 
know from whence it arose ; mischief fell upon her, 
and desolation came upon her suddenly, which she did 
not know. Her young men fell in the streets, and all 
her men of war were cut off in that day." There is 
also here a prediction exactly agreeing with the decree 
of Cyrus for the rebuilding of Jerusalem,—'^ He is 
my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even 
saying to Jerusalem, ' Thou shalt be built ;' and to 
the temple, ' Thy foundation shall be laid.' " And in 
connection with this, I may allude to the prophecy of 
Jeremiah, of the seventy years captivity. It has been 
said by the lecturer alluded to, that this prophecy 
failed ; and that the captivity was only fifty years. 
But Daniel, who had the writings of Jeremiah, on 
reading them, and computing the time since the com- 
mencement of the captivity, at a certain time, con- 
cluded that the period of their captivity was nearly ac- 
complished ; and, therefore, sought unto God, by 
fasting and prayer, that the promise of restoration 
might be accomplished ;^ and who is best qualified to 
determine this part, Daniel, who lived at the time, and 
was himself interested in the event ; or the man who 
lives at this distance of time, and depends for his 
means of information upon the chronology of kings 



♦ Daniel ix, 2, 



CONCERNING BABYLON. 153 

and empires, which have long since ceased to ex- 
ist ? 

But the predictions concerning the desolations of 
Chaldea and Babylon are still more striking. Jere- 
miah says, '^ A drought is upon her waters, and they 
shall be dried up ;" and he calls it a '' wilderness, a 
dry land, and a desert."* Travellers say that the 
canals which formerly watered this country, can now 
only be traced by their decayed banks. Thy are now 
dry and neglected ; and there is an absence of all cul- 
tivation. The prophet says, ''her cities are a deso- 
lation ;" and the traveller says, '' The ancient cities 
of Chaldea no longer exist." " Babylon shall become 
heaps," says the prophet ; and travellers say, " Baby- 
lon has become a vast succession of mounds, a great 
mass of ruined heaps, of various sizes." ''Cast her 
up as heaps," says the prophet, " destroy her utterly, 
let nothing be left of her." And travellers say that 
the ruins have been dug up, in search of bricks, so 
that heaps are cast up on the surface, and nothing is 
left but rubbish and confusion, heaps of earth and frag- 
ments of brick. " I will make it pools of water," 
says the prophet Isaiah ; and Mr. Buckingham says, 
"the ground is sometimes covered with pools of 
water in the hollows." " Sit thou silent and get thee 
into darkness," says the prophet, — " A silent and 
sublime solitude, a silence as profound as the grave," 
says the traveller. The prophets Isaiah and Jere- 
miah say, " It shall never be inhabited nor dwelt in 
from generation to generation." Travellers say, " In 

* Jer. 1, 12, 38-40. 



154 FULFILMENT OF PREDICTIONS. 

the sixteenth century there was not a house to be 
seen at Babylon ; and in the nineteenth, it is still des- 
olate and tenantless." '^ Neither shall the Arabian 
pitch tent there," says the prophet, " neither shall the 
shepherds make their folds there." Travellers say 
that the Arabs cannot be prevailed upon to pitch their 
tents there for a single night, for fear of evil spirits ; 
and that it is the general opinion of all the people of 
the country, that it is extremely dangerous to be there 
after nightfall. The prophet says, ^' Wild beasts of 
the desert shall be there, and their houses shall be full 
of doleful creatures, and owls shall dwell there, and 
dragons in their pleasant places." And travellers say, 
^' There are dens of wild beasts in various parts, 
which are the retreat of jackalls, hyenas, and other 
noxious animals ; in most of the cavities are numbers 
of owls ; and venomous reptiles are very numerous 
throughout the ruins." *' It shall be wholly deso- 
late," says the prophet. '' A more complete picture 
of desolation could not well be imagined," says the 
traveller. The prophet says, '^ Bell," i. e. the Tem- 
ple of Belus, '' boweth down." Rich, in his memoir, 
says, '' The loftiest temple ever built is nothing now 
but the highest heap in Babylon, boived down to little 
more than the third part of its original height." Isa- 
iah says, Babylon shall be '' as a carcass trodden un- 
der feet." Volney says, '' The ruins of Babylon are 
trodden under foot of men." Jeremiah says, " Her 
idols are confounded, her images are broken in 
pieces ;" and travellers say that images of various 
kinds are found among the ruins. Jeremiah says, 
" The walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken ;" 



DANIEL'S PROPHECY. I55 

and travellers agree in saying that not a trace of her 
walls is to be discovered. And several travellers 
unite in saying that it was impossible to behold this 
scene, and not be reminded how exactly the predic- 
tions of Isaiah and Jeremiah have been fulfilled, even 
in the appearance Babylon was doomed to present. 



DANIEL'S PROPHECY. 

The following condensed historical view of the 
things noted in the prophecy of Daniel, is taken from 
Keith on the Fulfilment of the Prophecies, abridged 
by him from Sir Isaac Newton. 

'' ' And now I will show thee the truth. Behold 
there shall stand up three kings in Persia (Cambyses, 
and Darius Hystaspes), and the fourth (Xerxes) shall 
be far richer than they all ; dnd by his strength through 
his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Gre- 
cia, And a mighty king (Alexander the Great) shall 
stand upj that shall rule with great dominion^ and do 
according to his wilL And when he shall stand up^ 
his kingdom shall be broken^ and shall be divided to^ 
wards the four winds of heaven : and not to his pos" 
terity^ nor according to his dominion which he ruled : 
for his kingdom shall be plucked up^ even for others 
besides those,''* 

" Soon after the death of Alexander the Great, his 
kingdom was divided towards the four winds of heav- 
en, but not to his posterity ; four of his captains, 

♦ Dan. xi, 2, 3, 4. 



156 DANIEL'S PROPHECY. 

Ptolemy, Antigonus, Lysiraacluis, and Cassander, 
reigned over Egypt, Syria, Thrace, and Greece. 
The kingdoms of Egypt and of Syria became afterward 
the most powerful : they subsisted as independent 
monarchies for a longer period than the other two ; 
and as they were more immediately connected with 
the land of Judea, which was often reduced to their 
dominion, they form the subject of the succeeding 
predictions. Bishop Newton gives even a more co- 
pious illustration of the historical facts, w^hich verify 
the whole of this prophecy, than that which had pre- 
viously been given by his illustrious predecessor of the 
same name, — who has rendered that name immortal. 
He quotes or refers to authorities in every instance : 
and his dissertation on that part of the prophecy which 
relates to the kingdoms of Syria and Egypt is wound 
up in these emphatic words : ' It may be proper to 
stop here, and reflect a little how particular and cir- 
cumstantial this prophecy is concerning the kingdoms 
of Egypt and Syria, from the death of Alexander to 
the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. There is not so 
complete and regular a series of their kings, — there is 
not so concise and comprehensive an account of their 
affairs to be found in any author of these times. The 
prophecy is really more perfect than any history. 
No one historian hath related so many circumstances, 
and in such exact order of time, as the prophet hath 
foretold them ; so that it was necessary to have 
recourse to several authors, Greek and Roman, 
Jewish and Christian ; and to collect here some- 
thing from one, and to collect there something from 
another, for better explaining and illustrating the great 



DANIEL'S PROPHECY. 157 

variety of particulars contained in this prophecy.' So 
close is the coincidence between the prophetic and 
the real history of the kings of Egypt and of Syria^ 
that Porphyry, one of the earliest opponents of Chris- 
tianity, labored to prove its extreme accuracy, and 
alleged from thence that th=e events must have pre- 
ceded the prediction. The same argument is equally 
necessary at the present hour to disprove the subse- 
quent parts of the same prophecy,- — though none can 
urge it now. The last of those facts to which it re- 
fers, the accomplish m-ent of which is alrea<ly past, are 
unfolded with equal precision and truth as the first, — 
Bnd the fulfilment of the whole is yet incomplete. 
The more clearly that the event corresponds to the 
prediction, instead of being ^n evidence against the 
truth, the more conclusive is the demonstration that it 
is the word of Him who hath the times and the seasons 
in his own power. 

'' The subject of the prophecy is represented in 
these words : — ' I am come to make thee understand 
what shall befall thy people in the latter days ; for the 
vision is for many days.''^ And that vi^hioh is noted 
in the Scripture of truth terminates not with the 
reign of Antiochus. At that very time the Romans 
extended their conquests towards the East. Mace- 
donia, the seat of the empire of Alexander the Great, 
became a province of the Roman empire. And the 
prophecy, faithfully tracing the transition of power, 
ceases to prolong the history of the kings of Egypt 
^and of Syria, and becomes immediately descriptive of 

* Daniel x, 14. 

14 



158 DANIEL'S PROPHECY. 

the progress of the Roman arms. The very term 
{shall stand up) which previously marked the com- 
mencement of the Persian and of the Macedonian 
power is here repeated, and denotes the commence- 
ment of a third era or a new power. The word in 
the original is the same in each. And arms (an epi- 
thet sufficiently characteristic of the extensive military 
power of the Romans) shall stand up^ and they shall 
pollute the sanctuary of strength^ and shall take away 
the daily sacrifice^ and they shall place the abomina' 
Hon that maketh desolate,^ All these things, deeply 
affecting the Jew^ish state, the Romans did, — and they 
finally rendered the country of Judea ' desolate of its 
old inhabitants.' The propagation of Christianity, — 
the succeeding important events,— ^is thus represent- 
ed : — The people that do know their God shall be 
strong and do exploits. And they that understand 
among the people shall instruct many. The persecu- 
tions which they suffered are as significantly described: 
• — Yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame j by 
captivity and by spoil many days, J^ow^ when they 
shall fall J they shall be holpen with a little help^ and 
many shall cleave to them with flatteries,] And such 
was Constantine's conversion, and the effect which it 
produced. No other government but that of the Ro- 
mans stood up,, — -but the mode of that government was 
changed. After the days of Constantine, Christianity 
became gradually more and more corrupted. Pre- 
vious to that period there had existed no system of 
dominion analogous to that which afterwards prevailed. 

♦ Dan. xi, 31. t Dan. xi, 32, 33, 34, 35. 



DANIEL'S PROPHECY. I59 

The greatest oppressors had never extended then* pre- 
tensions beyond human power, nor usurped a spiritual 
tyranny. But in contradiction to every other, the 
next succeeding form of government, unparalleled in its 
nature, in the annals of despotism or of delusion, is 
thus characterized by the prophet : — And the king 
(the ruling power, signifying any government, state or 
potentate) shall do according to his will ; and he shall 
exalt himself and magnify himself above every god^ 
and shall speak marvellous things against the God of 
godsj and shall prosper till the indignation be accom- 
plished,^ This description is suited to the history of 
the Eastern or Western churches, — to the govern- 
ment under the Grecian emperors at Constantinople, 
or of the popes at Rome. The extent of the Roman 
empire might justify its application to the latter ; but 
the connexion of the prophecy, as referable to local 
events, tends to limit it to the former. In either case 
it is descriptive of that mode of government which 
prospered so long in the east and in the west, — and 
which consisted in the impious usurpation of spiritual 
authority, — in the blasphemous assumption of those 
attributes which are exclusively divine, and in exalting 
itself above the laws of God and man. But instead, 
perhaps, of being confined exclusively to either, it 
may have been intended to represent, as it does char- 
acterize, the spiritual tyranny, and the substitution of 
the commandments of men for the will of God, which 
oppressed Christendom for ages, and hid from men 
the word of God. The prevalence of superstition, 

* Dan. xi, 36, &c. 



160 DANIEL'a PROPHECY. 

the prohibition or discouragement of marriage, and the 
worship of saints, as characteristic of the same period, 
and of the same power, are thus prophetically des- 
scribed : — ' Jf either shall he regard the God of his 
fathers nor the desire of women (or matrimony) , neither 
shall he regard any god,^ But in his estate shall he 
honour the God of forces^ — mahuzzim, — protectors 
or guardians, a term so applicable to the worship 
of saints and to the confidence which ^^was reposed 
in them, that expressions exactly synonymous are 
often used by many ancient writers in honor of them, 
— of which Mede and Sir Isaac Newton have adduced 
a multiplicity of instances. Mahuzzim were the tutelary 
saints of the Greek and Romish churches. The sub- 
serviency, which long existed, of spiritual power to 
temporal aggrandizement, is also noted in the por- 
phecy : and he shall cause them to rule over many^ and 
shall divide the land for gain.\ And that the princi- 
pal teachers and propagators of the worship of Ma- 
huzzim^ — ' the bishops, priests, and monks, and reli- 
gious orders, have been honoured, and reverenced, 
and esteemed in former ages ; that their authority and 
jurisdiction have extended over the purses and con- 
sciences of men ; that they have been enriched with 
noble buildings and large endowments, and have had 
the choicest of the lands appropriated for church 
lands ; — are points of such notoriety that they require 
no proof, and will admit of no denial.' 

'^ Having thus described the antichristian power^ 
which prospered so long and prevailed so widely, the 

* Dan. xi, 37, 38. t Dan. v^ 39. 



DANIiEL'S PROPHECY. 161 

prophecy next delineates, in less obscure terms, the 
manner in which that power was to be humbled and 
overthrown, and introduces a more particular definition 
of the rise, extent and fall of that kingdom w^hich was 
to oppress and supplant it in the latter days. •And at 
the time of the end shall tht king of the south push at 
him.^ The Saracens extended their conquests over 
great part of Asia and of Europe : they penetrated 
the dominions of the Grecian empire, and partially 
subdued, though they could not entirely subvert it, 
nor obtain possession of Constantinople, the capital 
city. The prediction, however brief, significantly 
represents their warfare, which was desultory, and 
their conquest, which was incomplete. And Arabia 
is situated to the south of Palestine. The Turks, 
the next and the last invaders of the Grecian empire, 
Were of Scythian extraction, and came from the north. 
And while a single expression identifies the Saracen 
invasion, — the irruption of the Turks, being of a more 
fatal character and more permanent in its effects, is 
fully described. Every part of the description is 
most faithful to the facts. Their local situation, the 
impetuosity of their attack, the organization of their 
armies, and the success of their arras, form the first 
part of the prediction respecting them. And the king 
of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind^ 
with chariots and with horsemen^ and with many ships; 
and he shall enter into the countries^ and shall over- 
flow and pass over.f Although the Grecian empire 
withstood the predatory warfare of the Saracens, it 

* Dan. xi, 40. f Dan. xi, 40. 

14* 



162 CANIEL^S PROPHECY, 

gave way before the overwhelming forces of the* 
Turks, whose progress was tracked with destruction, 
and whose coming was indeed like a whirlwind. 
Chariots and horsemen were to be the distinguishing 
marks of their armies, though armies, in general, con- 
tain the greate&t proportion of foot soldiers. And, in 
describing their first invasion of the Grecian territory. 
Gibbon relates, that ' the n^yriads of Turkish horse 
overspread a frontier of six hundred miles from Tauris 
to Arzeroum, and the blood of one hundred and 
thirty thousand Christians was a grateful sacrifice to 
the Arabian prophet. The Turkish armies at first 
consisted so exclusively of horsetnen, that the stoutest 
of the youths of the captive Christians were afterward 
taken and trained as a band of infantry, and called jani- 
zaries (yengi cheri) or new soldiers.' In apparent 
contradiction to the nature of their army, they were 
also to possess many ships. And Gibbon again re- 
lates that ' a fleet of two hundred ships was construct^ 
ed by the hand& of the captive Greeks.' But no 
direct evidence is necessary to prove that many ships 
must have been requisite for the capture of so many 
islands, and the destruction of the Venetian naval 
power, which was once the most celebrated in Eu-^ 
rope* ' The words, shall enter into the countries and 
overjloio and pass over^ give us an exact idea of their 
overflowing the western parts of Asia, and then pass- 
ing over into Europe.' 

'^ He shall enter also into the glorious land^ and 
many countries shall be overthrown,^ This expres- 

*Dan. xi^41. 



DANlEL^S PROPHECY. 163 

Sion, the glorious land^ occurs in the previous part of 
this prophecy (v. 16), and, in both cases, it evidently 
means the land of Israel ; and such the Syriac trans* 
lation renders it. The Holy Land formed part of the 
first conquest of the Turks. And manij countries 
^hall be overthroivn.^ The limits of the Turkish em- 
pire embraced the ancient kingdoms of Babylon, Mac- 
edon, Thrace, Epirus, GreecCj &c., and the many 
countries over which they ruled. The whole of Syria 
was also included, with partial exceptions. These 
very exceptions are specified in the prophecy, though 
these territories partially intersect the Turkish domin- 
ions, and divide one portion of them from another, 
forming a singular contrast to the general continuity of 
kingdoms. And while every particular prediction re- 
specting these separate states has been fully verified, 
their escaping out of the hands of the Turks has been 
no less marvellously fulfilled. But these shall escape 
out of his hand^ even Edom and JHoab. and the chief 
of the children of Jlmmon.f Mede, Sir Isaac and 
Bishop Newton, in applying this prophecy to the 
Turkish empire, could only express, in general terms, 
that the Arabs possessed these countries, and exacted 
tribute from the Turks for permitting their caravans 
to pass through them. But recent travellers, among 
whom Volney has to be numbered, have unconsciously 
given the most satisfactory information, demonstrative 
of the truth of all the minutise of the prediction. Vol- 
ney describes these countries in part,-^Burckhardt 
traversed them all,— and they have since been visited 

♦ Dan* xi^ 41. t Dan. xi, 41. 



164 DANIEL'S PRoraecY. 

by other travellers. Edom and Moab are in posses^ 
sion of the Bedouin (or wandering) Arabs. The 
Turks have often attempted in vain to subjugate them. 
The partial escape of Ammon from their dominion is 
not less discriminating than just. For although that 
territory lies in the immediate vicinity of the pachalic 
of Damascus, to which part of it is subjected, — though 
it be extremely fertile by nature, — ^though its situation 
and its soil have thus presented, for several centuries, 
the strongest temptation to Turkish rapacity, — though 
they have often attempted to subdue it, — -yet no fact 
could have been more explicitly detailed, or more in-* 
cidentally communicated, than that the inhabitants of 
the greater part of that country, particularly what ad- 
joins the ancient but now desolate city of Ammon, 
Mive in a state of complete independence of the 
Turks.' 

" He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the coun-^ 
tries.^ How significantly do these words represent 
the vast extent of the Turkish empire, which alone 
has stretched its dominion over many countries of 
Asia, of Europe, and of Africa. Ill-fated Egypt w^as 
iiot to escape from subjection to such a master. Jlnd 
the land of Egypt shall not escape ; but he shall have 
power over the treasures of gold and of silver^ and 
over all the preciotis things of Egypt.f The Turks 
have drained Egypt of its w^ealth, of its gold and of 
its silver, and of its precious things : and such power 
have they exercised over them, that the kingdom of 
the Pharaohs, the land where everlasting pyramids were 

* Dan. jd, 42. f Dan. xi, 43* 



DANIEL'S PROPHECY. 165 

built, despoiled to the utmost, is now one of the poor- 
est, as it has long been the basest of kingdoms. The 
Libyans and Ethiopians shall he at his steps, ^ These 
form the extremities of the Turkish empire, and were 
partially subject to its power. ' After the conquest 
of Egypt, the terror of Selim's victories,' says the 
historian, 'spreading wide, the kings of Africa, bor- 
dering upon Cyrenaica, sent their ambassadors with 
offers to become his tributaries. Other more remote 
nations also towards Ethiopia were easily induced to 
join in amity with the Turks.' Exclusive of Egypt, 
they still retain the nominal power over other countries 
of Africa. Such is the prophetic description of the 
rise and extent of that power which was to possess 
Judea in the latter days ; and it is a precise delinea- 
tion of the rise and extent of the Turkish empire, to 
which Judea has been subject for centuries. 

'' Every succeeding fact, from the time of Cyrus to 
the present age, gives as sure a confirmation as the 
voice of an angel could have done, that the things 
noted in this prophecy are those of the Scripture of 
truth. History interprets every part of it. It brings 
a multiplicity of witnesses, if w^e will listen to their 
testimony, from a long succession of ages, each aris- 
ing to testify to its truth. And although the names of 
the countries be not mentioned, and the prophecy has 
received a variety of interpretations, yet we apprehend 
that it presents us, like every spot on earth which was 
the subject of Scriptural prophecies, with ocular de- 
monstration that there is a God who ruleth among the 

* Dan. xi, 43. 



166 DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 

nations ; and that the Christian religion, the purest 
and the best on earth, has that God for its author.'^ 

We come now to the New Testament ; and the 
first prophecy that meets us is that of the destruction 
of Jerusalem by the Romans, as spoken by our 
Saviour. To give an adequate idea of this, however, 
would require a volume. I shall be able only briefly 
to allude to a few particulars. And I would remark 
in the outset, that the three evangelists, Matthew, 
Mark, and Luke,^ who record this prophecy, wrote 
many years before the event, while Jerusalem was 
standing, and there were no signs of its approaching 
destruction. John wrote after its destruction ; and 
we see the remarkable delicacy of the inspired authors 
of the Bible, that he should not even allude to the 
subject, lest he should seem to conform the prediction 
to the event. The first sign of the approach of this 
event, which Jesus gave to his disciples, was the ap- 
pearance o( false Christs^ which should deceive many. 
Josephus, the Jewish historian, states that the country 
was filled with impostors and deceivers, who induced 
many people to follow them to the wilderness, where 
they miserably perished. ^ 

The next sign he gave them, was '' wars and rumors 
of wars," nation rising against nation. .Josephus and 
other historians relate that, before the destruction of 
Jerusalem, in consequence of the rebellion of the 
Jews, the whole of Judea was a scene of war. Jose- 
phus says, '' every city was divided into two armies." 
Italy was also convulsed with contentions for the em- 

* Mat. xxiv ; Mark xiii ; Luke xxi. 



DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 157 

pire^ and within two years, four emperors suffered 
death. '' The emperor Caligula commanded the 
Jews to place his statue in their temple ; and in con- 
sequence of a positive refusal to comply with so im- 
pious a request, he threatened them with an invasion, 
which was prevented by his death ;" producing '' ru- 
mors of wars ;" and still " the end was not yet," 
according to Christ's words. 

Another sign was that there should be famines, 
pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. There 
were several different famines during the reign of Clau- 
dius Caesar. They continued to be severe for sev- 
eral years, throughout the land of Judah. Pestilence 
succeeded them. In the same reign there were earth- 
quakes at Rome, Apamea, and Crete. In the reign 
of Nero, there was an earthquake at Campania, and 
another in Laodicea ; Hierapolis and Colosse were 
overthrown, and others happened in various places, 
before the destruction of Jerusalem* Josephus re- 
lates that, in Judea, at the beginning of the war, but 
before Jerusalem was besieged by Titus, there was 
such an uncommonly tremendous storm of wind, and 
thunder and lightning, with '' a fearful noise of the 
agitated earth, as portended, in the opinion of many, 
the greatest evils." 

But another sign of the approach of this calamity, 
given by the Saviour, was the appearance of fearful 
sights and signs in the heavens. Josephus gives a 
very particular account of many very terrible appear- 
ances in the heavens ; as a comet like a flaming sword, 
waving over Jerusalem, and the appearance of con- 
tending armies in the air. " The great gate of the 



168 DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 

temple," he says, ^' which twenty men could scarcely 
shut, and which was made fast with bolts and bars, 
was seen to open of its own accord, to let in their 
enemies. At the feast of Pentecost, when the priests 
went at midnight into the temple, to attend to their 
service, they first heard a kind of noise, as of a move- 
ment from the place, and then a voice, saying, ^' Let 
us go hence." Josephus also says that, four years 
before the war, a man began at the feast of tabernacles 
to cry in the streets, and wherever he went, ^' A voice 
against Jerusalem and the temple ! A voice against all 
the people ! Wo, wo, unto them." In this manner 
he continued to cry for about seven years, when sud- 
denly he cried out, " Wo, wo, to myself," when a 
weapon struck and killed him. '^ These and many 
other extraordinary events, excited great consterna- 
tion among the Jews, and were intimations of their ap- 
proaching miseries." Tacitus thus describes them: — 
'' Armies seemed to meet in the clouds. Weapons 
were there seen glittering ; the temple seemed to 
be in flame, with fire issuing from the clouds ; and a 
divine voice was heard, that the Deity was quitting 
the place, and a great motion, as of his departing !" 
Josephus was a Jew, who never embraced Chris- 
tianity, and Tacitus a learned Gentile, who hated and 
vilified it. Christ predicted, also, that his disciples 
should encounter great persecution ; that some should 
be offended and apostatize ; and that the gospel must 
first be published among all nations ; all of which 
came to pass before the destruction of Jerusalem ; as 
appears by the facts recorded in Acts, and in both 
sacred and profane history. He also declared that the 



DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 169 

gospel must first be published to all nations, i. e. to 
nil nations^ in distinction from its being confined to 
the Jews. This was done soon after Christ's resur- 
rection. It was true, however, that it was actually 
preached before this event, not only in lesser Asia, 
Greece, and Italy, but as far northward as Scylhia, 
southward as far as Ethiopia, eastward as Parthia and 
India, and westward as far ^s Spain and Britain, 

But the last sign he gave them was '' the abomina- 
tion of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, 
standing in the Holy Place," and that Jerusalem should 
be compassed about with armies ; and then he warns 
his disciples to flee. The images of the emperor, 
and the eagles that were carried in front of the legions, 
were regarded with religious abhorrence by the Jews, 
as they were ranked among the Pagan deities, and 
reverenced with divine honors. They were, there- 
fore, rightly called th^ abomination of desolation, since 
the erection of them within the Holy Place marked 
the fatal design of the enemy to lay waste the country, 
and expose it to all the ravages of war ; the Romans 
having, before this, at the request of the Jews, re- 
moved them from their standard. And strange as it 
may appear, the Roman general did besiege Jerusa- 
lem, and then suddenly and unaccoajntably retire for a 
little time, so that all the Christians in the city, taking 
warning by this sign, and in obedience to the instruc- 
tions of Christ, fled from the city, some to the moun- 
tains, and others to the city of Pella, near the Jor- 
dan ; so that in the succeeding calamities, according 
to the prediction, not a hair of their heads did perish. 

Finally, he says, *' There shall be grea^ tribulation, 
15 



170 THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. 

such as was not from the beginning of the world to 
this time, — no, nor ever shall be. There shall be 
great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. 
The particulars of the siege are all related by Jose- 
phus, and form a detail of miseries that admit of no 
exaggeration ; and which he repeatedly declares in 
terms that entirely accord with the language of pro- 
phecy, are ahogether unequalled in the history of the 
world. Christ says there shall not be one stone left 
upon another of the temple ; and it was completely 
demolished, and its foundations raised, by Titus. 
The Emperor Julian, an apostate from Christianity, 
in order to falsify the words of Christ, attempted to 
rebuild the temple ; but while making preparations, 
there were earthquakes, and balls of fire issuing out of 
the earth, which destroyed their works and killed the 
workmen, so that they were compelled to desist. 

Yet, notwithstanding all these facts, which are 
familiar to all readers of history, the lecturer to whom 
I have alluded, intimates that Jesus was mistaken in a 
prediction contained in the same chapter from which 
these are taken, and relating to the same event ! 

THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. 

The following condensed account of the present 
state of these churches, compared with the prophecy, 
is taken from Keith on the Fulfilment of the Pro- 
phecies. 

'^ The Church of Ephesus, after a commenda- 
tion of their first works, to which they were com- 



THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. I7I 

manded to return, were accused of having left their 
first love, and threatened with the removal of their can- 
dlestick out of its place, except they should repent. =^ 
Ephesus is situated nearly five miles north of Smyrna. 
It was the metropohs of Lydia, and a great and opu- 
lent city, and (according to Strabo) the greatest em- 
porium of Asia Minor. It was chiefly famous for the 
temple of Diana, ^ whom all Asia worshipped,' which 
was adorned with one hundred and twenty-seven col- 
umns of Parian marble, each of a single shaft, and 
sixty feet high, and which formed one of the seven 
wonders of the world. The remains of its magnifi- 
cent theatre, in which it is said that twenty thousand 
people could easily have been seated, are yet to be 
seen.f But ^ a few heaps of stones, and some miser- 
erable mud cottages, occasionally tenanted by Turks, 
without one Christian residing there, are all the re- 
mains of ancient Ephesus.' It is, as described by 
different travellers, a solemn and most forlorn spot. 
The Epistle to the Ephesians is read throughout the 
world ; but there is none in Ephesus to read it now. 
They left their first love, they returned not to their 
first works. Their candlestick has been removed out 
of its place ; and the great city of Ephesus is no 
more. 

" The Church of Smyrna was approved of as 
'rich,' and no judgment was denounced against it. 
They were warned of a tribulation of ten days (the ten 
years' persecution by Dioclesian), and were enjoined 
to be faithful unto death, and they would receive a 

* Rev. ii, 6^ t Acts xix, 29. 



172 THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA, 

crown of life.^ And unlike to the fate of the famous 
city of Ephesus, Smyrna is still a large city, contain- 
ing nearly one hundred thousand inhabitants, with sev- 
eral Greek churches ; and an English and other Chris- 
tian ministers have resided in it. The light has in- 
deed become dim, but the candlestick has not been 
wholly removed out of its place. 

The Church of Pergamos is commended for 
holding fast the name of the Lord, and not denying 
his faith, during a time of persecution, and in the midst 
of a wrcked city. But there were some in it who 
held doctrines and did deeds which the Lord hated. 
Against them he was to fight with the sword of his 
mouth \ and all were called to repent. But it is not 
said, as of Ephesus, that their candlestick would be 
removed out of its place. f Pergamos is situated to 
the north of Smyrna, at a distance of nearly sixty -four 
miles, and ' was formerly the metropolis of Helles- 
pontic Mysia.' It still contains at least fifteen thou- 
sand inhabitants, of whom fifteen hundred are Greeks, 
and two hundred Armenians, each of whom have a 
church. 

^' In the Church op Thyatira, like that of Per- 
gamos, some tares were soon mingled with the wheat. 
He who hath eyes like unto a flame of fire discerned 
both. Yet happiily for the souls of the people, more 
than for the safety of the city, the general character 
of that church, as it then existed, is thus described : — 
' I know thy works, and charity, and service, and 
faith, and thy patience, and thy works ; and the last 

* Rev. ii, 8-11. \ Rev. ii. 12-16. 



THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. 173 

to be more than the first. '"^ But against those, for 
such there were among them, who had committed for- 
nication, and eaten things sacrificed unto idols, to 
whom the Lord gave space to repent of their fornica- 
tion, and they repented not, great tribulation was de- 
nounced : and to every one of them was to be given 
according to their works. These, thus warned while 
on earth in vain, have long since passed, vi^here all are 
daily hastening, to the place where no repentance can 
be found, and no work be done. ' But unto the rest 
in Thyatira (as many as have not known the depths of 
Satan), I will put upon you, saith the Lord, none 
other burden.'! There were those in Thyatira who 
could save a city. It still exists, while greater cities 
have fallen. Mr. Hartley, who visited it in 1826, 
describes it as ' embosomed in cypresses and poplars. 
The Greeks are said to occupy three hundred houses, 
and the Armenians thirty. Each of them have a 
church.' 

'^ The Church of Sardis differed from those 
of Pergamos and Thyatira. They had not denied the 
faith ; but the Lord had a few things against them, for 
there were some evil-doers among them, and on those, 
if they repented not, judgment was to rest. But in 
Sardis, great though the city was, and founded though 
the church had been by an apostle, there were only a 
few names which had not defiled their garments. 
And to that church the Spirit said, ' I know thy 
works, that thou hast a name, that thou livest and art 
dead.' But the Lord is long-suffering, not willing 

♦ Rev ii, 19. t Rev. ii, 24. 

15* 



174 I^HE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. 

that any should perish, but that all should come to re-' 
pentance. And the church of Sardis was thus warn-' 
ed : — ' Be watchful and strengthen the things which 
remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found thy 
works perfect before God. Remember, therefore, 
how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast and 
repent. If, therefore, thou^ shalt not watch, I will 
come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what 
hour I shall come upon thee.'^ 

'' The state of Sardis now is a token that the warn- 
ing was given in vain ; and shows that the threatenings 
of the Lord, when disregarded, become certain judg-- 
ments. Sardis, the capital of Lydia, was a great and 
renowned city, where the wealth of Croesus, its king, 
was accumulated, and became even a proverb. But 
now a few wretched mud huts, 'scattered among the 
ruins,' are the only dwellings in Sardis, and form the 
lowly home of Turkish herdsmen, who are its only 
inhabitants. As the seat of a Christian church it has 
lost, — all it had to lose,— the name. ' No Christians 
reside on the spot.' 

^' ' And to the angel of the ChurcA iisr Phila- 
delphia write, These things saith He. that is holy, 
He that Is true. He that hath the key of David, He 
that openeth and no man shutteth ; and shutteth, and 
no man openeth ; — I know thy works ; behold I have 
set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it ; 
for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, 
and hast not denied my name. Because thou hast 
kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee' 



* Rev. iii, 3, 4. 



TH^ SfeVEN CHURCltES OF ASlA. I75 

from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all 
the world. '^ The promises of the Lord are as sure 
as his threatenings. Philadelphia alone long withstood 
the power of thei Turks, and, in the words of Gibbon, 
' at length capitulated with the proudest of the Otto- 
mans. Among the Greek colonies and churches of 
Asia,' he adds, ' Philadelphia is still erect ; a col- 
umn in a scene of ruins.' ' It is indeed an interesting 
circumstance, says Mr. Hartley, ' to find Christianity 
more flourishing here than in many other parts of the 
Turkish empire : there is still a numerous Christian 
population : they occupy three hundred houses. Di- 
vine service is performed every Sunday, in five 
churches*' Nor is it less interesting, in these event- 
ful times, and notwithstanding the general degeneracy 
of the Greek church, to learn that the present bishop 
of Philadelphia accounts, ' the Bible the only founda- 
tion of all religious belief;^ and that he admits that 
' abuses have entered into the church which former 
ages might endure, but the present must put them 
down.' It may well be added, as stated by Mr* 
Hartley, ' the circumstance that Philadelphia is now 
called Allah^Shehr, the city of God, when viewed in 
connexion with the promises made to that church, and 
especially with that of writing the name of the city of 
God upon its faithful members, is, to say the least, a 
singular concurrence.' From the prevailing iniquities 
of men many a sign has been given how terrible are 
the judgments of God. But from the fidelity of the 
church in Philadelphia of old, in keeping his word, a 

* tlev. iiij 7-10* 



176 THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. 

name and memorial of his faithfulness has been left ort 
earth, while the higher glories, promised to those that 
ovefcame, shall be ratified in heaven ; and towards 
them, but not them only, shall the glorified Redeemer 
confirm the truth of his blessed words^ ' Him that 
overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my 
God ;' even as assuredly as Philadelphia, when all 
else fell around it, 'stood erect,' our enemies them* 
selves being judges, 'a column in a scene of ruins.' 

^' And unto the angel of the Church of the Laodi- 
CEANs write, — -These things saith the Amen, the faith- 
ful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of 
God. I know thy works^ that thou art neither cold 
nor hot ; I would that thou wert cold or hot. So 
then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold 
nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because 
thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods, and 
have need of nothing ; and knowest not that thou art 
wretched and miserable, and poor, and blind, and na- 
ked ; I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the 
fire that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment that 
thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy 
nakedness do not appear ; and anoint thine eyes with 
eye-salve that thou mayest see.'* All the other 
churches were found worthy of some commendation ; 
and there was some blessing in them all. 

''But in what the Spirit said to the church in Lao- 
dicea, there was not one word of approval ; it was 
lukewarm, without exception ; and therefore it was 
wholly loathed. 

* Rey. ill, 14, &c. 



THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA. • I77 

'^ Laodicea was the metropolis of the Greater 
Phrygia ; and, as heathen writers attest, it was an ex- 
tensive and very celebrated city. Instead of then 
verging lo its decline, it arose to its eminence only 
about the beginning of the Christian era. ' It was the 
mother-church of sixteen bishoprics.' Its three thea- 
tres, and the immense circus, which was capable of 
containing upwards of thirty thousand spectators, the 
spacious remains of which (with other ruins buried 
under ruins) are yet to be seen, give proof of the 
greatness of its ancient wealth and population, and in- 
dicate too strongly that in that city where Christians 
were rebuked, without exception, for their lukewarm- 
ness, there were multitudes who were lovers of plea- 
sure more than lovers of God. The amphitheatre 
was built after the Apocalypse was written, and the 
warning of the Spirit had been given to the church of 
the Laodiceans to be zealous and repent ; but what- 
ever they there may have heard or beheld, their hearts 
would neither have been quickened to a renewed zeal 
for the service and glory of God, nor turned to a 
deeper sorrow for sin, and to a repentance not to be 
repented of. But the fate of Laodicea, though oppo- 
site, has been no less marked than that of Philadelphia. 
There are no sights of grandeur nor scenes of temp- 
tation around it now. Its own tragedy may be briefly 
told. It was lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot ; 
and therefore It was loathsome in the sight of God. 
It was loved, and rebuked, and chastened in vain. 
And it has been blotted from the world. It is now 
as desolate as its inhabitants were destitute of the fear 
and love of God ; and as the church of the Laodi- 



178 PREDICTIONS CONTAINED IN DANIEL, &c. 

ceans was devoid of true faith in the Saviour, and zeal 
in his service, it is, as described in his travels by Dr. 
Smith, ' utterly desolated, and without any inhabitant, 
except wolves, and jackals, and foxes.' It can boast 
of no human inhabitants, except occasionally when 
wandering Turkomans pitch their tents in its spa- 
cious amphitheatre. The ^ finest sculptured frag- 
ments' are to be seen at a considerable depth, in ex- 
cavations which have been made among the ruins. 
And Colonel Lake observes, ' there are few ancient 
cities more likely than Laodicea to preserve many 
curious remains of antiquity beneath the surface of the 
soil ; its opulence, and the earthquakes to which it 
was subject, rendering it probable that valuable works 
of art were often there buried beneath the ruins of the 
public and the private edifices.' A fearful significancy 
is thus given to the terrific denunciation, ' Because 
thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will 
spue thee out of my mouth.' '' 

There are some very interesting predictions con- 
tained in Daniel, in Revelations, and in one of Paul's 
epistles, relating to the church of Ronie ; and to the 
religion of Mohammed ; which have been, in a most 
extraordinary manner fulfilled ; and likewise the pre- 
dictions concerning the diffusion and propagation of 
the gospel. But a fair representation of them would 
require a much larger space than is consistent with the 
design of this work ; and I must hasten to the close 
of this part of the subject. I shall, therefore, only 
notice two or three other predictions, which are hav- 



PREDICTIONS CONTAINED IN DANIEL, &c. I79 

iiig their accomplishment among ourselves at the pres- 
ent day. 

Peter says, '' there shall come in the last days 
scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying. 
Where is the promise of his coming ?" And are there 
not scoffers among us, some of whom walk after their 
own lusts ? Do they not make a mock of experimental 
religion, and scoff at the threatenings of God against 
sinners ? And do they not say, '' Where is the prom- 
ise of his coming ?" or at least pretend that he was 
mistaken as to the time when he would come. 

Again, the same apostle says, "• There shall be 
false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in 
damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought 
them." And have there not arisen false teachers 
among us ? And did they not privily, in the days of 
our fathers, while professing to be orthodox, bring in 
damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought 
them? The apostle also says, ''many shall follow 
their pernicious ways ; by reason of whom the way of 
truth shall be evil spoken of." And is it not so ? 
Do not many follow the pernicious ways of these 
false teachers ? And is not the way of truth evil 
spoken of ? 

But again, — the apostle Paul, speaking of those that 
receive not the love of the truth that they might be 
saved, says, '' God shall send them strong delusions, 
to believe a lie, that they all might be damned, who 
believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighte- 
ousness." Here is a declaration of the awful truth, 
that, when men reject the truth from hatred of it, and 
refuse cordially to embrace it, God sends upon them 



180 CONCLUSION. 

a judicial blindness, so that they are left to embrace 
and continue in fatal and soul-destroying errors, which 
at last will drown their souls in perdition. And is it 
not so ? Have we not examples of it among us ? How 
often do we see those who have sat under the sound 
of the gospel, and whose hearts have been moved upon 
by the Holy Ghost,— how often do we see them re- 
sisting those influences, and rejecting the truth, be- 
cause they hate it, and cannot submit their hearts to 
it ? And how often does God leave them to embrace 
some soul-destroying error, to their own damnation ? 

Once more, — the impenitent often bring up the in- 
consistent conduct of professors of religion, and the 
cases of apostasy that occur among them, to prove 
that there is nothing in religion. But it proves just 
the contrary. All this is predicted. Christ intimates 
that there will be many false professors ; and John, 
speaking of such says, '' They went out from us, be- 
cause they were not of us." Christ says also, that 
because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall 
wax cold ; and is it not so ? Does not iniquity abound ? 
And has not the love of many among us waxed cold ? 
Are not some of us now verifying this prediction ? 
How warm is our love to him that died for us ? Does 
it lead us to live, not to ourselves, but unto him ^ 
How much sacrifice of personal interest or feeling 
does it lead us to make, for the sake of Him and his 
cause ? 

It appears from the facts that have been presented 
in this and the preceding chapter, that the whole Bible, 
as we have it, was given by inspiration of God. We 



CONCLUSION. 181 

have shown that prophecies spoken by Moses, Isaiah, 
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joe), Amos, Micah, Zephaniah, 
Zechariah, Obadiah, and Nahum, have been fulfilled. 
We might likewise show the same of David and of all 
the prophets ; but think it unnecessary in this place. 
We have seen also, that prophecies spoken by Jesus 
Christ, Paul, and Peter, have been fulfilled. We 
might have shown the same of John. But to prove 
the truth of the Bible from prophecy, it is not neces- 
sary to point out particular predictions that have been 
fulfilled in every particular book. The Jews had a 
rule that a man who w^as acknowledged as a prophet, — 
whose words had been attested by fulfilment, or by 
miracles, or signs, or by another acknowledged pro- 
phet, was sufficient to attest the inspiration of another 
prophet. Now we have this testimony in regard to 
all the parts of the Bible. Jesus Christ was shown 
to be a prophet, by the testimony of John the Baptist, 
whose prophetic character w^as attested by an angel, 
and acknowledged by the people ; Christ has also 
been shown to be a prophet by the miracles which he 
wrought, and by the fulfilment of predictions which he 
uttered. And we have his testimony to the whole 
of the Old Testament, — '' All things which are written 
in the law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the 
Psalms," concerning himself, he says must be fulfil- 
led ; thus recognizing these three parts into which the 
Jewish Scriptures were divided, as of Divine origin ; 
and these comprise all that we now have in the Old 
Testament. Christ also declared to his apostles that 
he would impart to them the gift of inspiration, to 
enable them to write the gospel, and settle the foun- 
16 



182 PRACTICAL REMARKS^. 

dation of the Christian church ; and this attests the 
books that were written b}^ them. But as Paul was 
not one of the original apostles, we have the testimony 
of Peter to the inspiration of his epistles ; and as to the 
evangelists, Mark and Luke, they were the compan- 
ions of Peter and Paul, and their gospels are substan- 
tially the gospels according to Peter and Paul. We 
have also the testimony of Paul and Peter, both of 
whom we have proved to be inspired, by the fulfil- 
ment of predictions which they uttered ; and they 
both bear testimony to the inspiration of the Old Tes- 
tament* So that the argument now presented pro- 
duces evidence entirely conclusive of the inspiration 
of the whole Bible, as we have it. 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

This whole subject, and the facts here presentedy 
call for some serious and solemn reflections i 

1. The facts here presented show the instability 
and emptiness of all human greatness. Where are 
now those mighty empires, those great cities, those 
splendid palaces, which the ambition of great men 
once reared to perpetuate their memories ? The wild 
beasts have the dominion ;, the cities lie waste ; the 
palaces are in ruins ; and the names of the men who 
reared them are lost in the oblivion of ages, while their 
ashes are not permitted to sleep under the monuments 
which they erected : but, stolen with sacrilegeous 
hands, they are carried to distant lands, and exposed 
for gain to the gaze of the curious. And shall any of 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 183 

US be so foolish as to spend our time and strength to 
heap up earthly treasures, which shall share the same 
fate, while we neglect to secure a treasure in heaven, 
— the true riches which shall never fade away ? Those 
palaces shall stand forever, — those mansions shall en- 
dure through eternal ages, — those pearly gates shall 
never open to the enemy, — no hostile foot shall ever 
tread those golden streets. Is it wise, then, to ex- 
pend our energies here, where, in a few years, the 
houses which we build will be heaps of ruins, and our 
names will soon be forgotten ? 

2. Here is a solemn warning to those nations 
which forget God, and refuse to acknowledge his 
hand in their blessings. It was this which brought 
down the proud and haughty king of Babylon from his 
throne, and spread utter desolation over so many king- 
doms, which were once among the fairest portions of 
the earth. And we have reason to fear, that unless 
we repent of our sins, and acknowledge God m our 
national capacity, the same forgetfulness of God will 
bring destruction and desolation upon our own beloved 
land ; so that her Christian temples will be laid low, 
her proud cities reduced to heaps of rubbish, the pal- 
aces of her merchant princes overthrown, her inhab- 
itants wasted away, and her beautiful fields turned to 
the silent desolation of dark, impenetrable forests, in- 
habited only by wild beasts of prey. 

3. We learn the folly of those who think God 
is too merciful to punish sinners forever in hell. Was 
he too merciful to cast off his own chosen people, on 
account of their sins, and expose them to calamities 
indescribable, from generation to generation ? Was he 



184 PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

too merciful to overthrow the splendid city of Tyre, 
whose merchants were princes, and leave nothing of 
all their greatness but a bare rock, on which the fish- 
ermen spread their nets ? Was he too merciful to 
overthrow Nineveh, that great city, wherein were 
more than six score thousand persons, that could 
not discern between their right hand and their left 
hand, so that now even the place where it stood, can- 
not be identified ? Was he too merciful to overturn 
Babylon and Edom and Moab, and turn vast coun- 
tries, thickly peopled, and cultivated as a garden, into 
a waste howling wilderness ? And will he be so 
merciful to sinners now living under the broad blaze 
of the Sun of righteousness, who shut their eyes to 
this glorious light, and turn a deaf ear to the calls of 
his mercy, — w^ill he be so merciful as not to punish 
them in eternity, but to take them up to heaven in 
their sins, to pollute those mansions of unfading glory, 
reserved in the heavens for them that love him ? 
''Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable, 
in the day of judgment, for Tyre and Sidon," than 
for them. 

4. We learn the certainty of the fulfilment of all 
the promises and threatenings of the Bibler. '' God is 
not a man, that he should lie ; neither the son of man 
that he should repent : hath he said, and shall he not 
do it ? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it 
good ?" Let the exact fulfihnent of his terrible threat- 
enings against his own ancient people for their dis- 
obedience answer. Let the judgments denounced 
and fulfilled against Moab, Edom, Tyre, and Babylon, 
answer ? And what has he said concerning those who 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 185 

are living in innpenitence and sin ? '^Cursed is every- 
one that continueth not in all things that are written in 
the book of the law to do them," '^ He that believ- 
eth not is condemned already, because he hath not 
believed on the only begotten Son of God. He tha^ 
believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath 
of God abideth on him." "God is angry with the 
wicked every day. If he turn not, he will whet his 
glittering sword ; he hath bent his bow and made it 
ready. He hath also prepared for him the instruments 
of death." "Fori lift up my hand to heaven and 
say, I live forever. If I whet my glittering sword, 
and mine hand take hold on judgment, I will render 
vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that 
hate me." These are only a few of the multitude of 
God's threatenings against sinners. And why is it 
that they are not heeded ? Why is it that they go on 
as careless and indifferent as if there were no judg- 
ment, no heaven, no hell ? It is, doubtless, because 
they expect in some way or other to escape. But 
there is but one condition annexed to these threaten- 
ings ; and that is, that he turn, — turn from his sins, to 
seek the Lord, — turn from his unbelief, to the Saviour 
of sinners. We have seen how exactly and minutely 
every jot and tittle of his threatenings have been fuR 
filled against those ancient nations, who refused, upon 
fair warning, to turn from their sins to the Lord. 
And no less exactly will be fulfilled upon us the awful 
threatenings of his word against the impenitent and un- 
believing, unless we repent. 
16* 



186 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST* 



CHAPTER V. 

Fourth Pillar, continued* — Prophecies concerning 
Christy with their fulfilment » 

Luke xxivj 24. 

«« All things mnst be fulfilled which were written in the law of 
Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning me." 

These words were spoken by our Saviour, after 
his resurrection, and just before he ascended up, to 
sit on the right hand of God, in the heavens. It has 
been denied, by one who professes great veneration 
for the character of Jesus Christ, that there were any 
direct predictions concerning him in the Old Testa* 
ment ; but here it is directly asserted by Jesus him* 
self, that there were predictions concerning him, in 
each of the three grand divisions of the Old Testa* 
ment, — the Law of J\Iose^^ the Prophets^ and the 
Psalms. Which shall we believe ? If I thought Jesus 
could have been mistaken in so important a matter as 
this, I could not hold him in such veneration. But 
believing him, as I do, to be a divine person, I con* 
sider it impious to assert, in contradiction to his own 
declaration, that there are no such predictions con- 
cerning him. 



PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 18? 

It is useful to examine these prophecies, because 
they constitute an important branch of the evidence on 
which we rely to prove the authenticity of the Chris*- 
tian religion. Jesus himself deemed it necessary to 
open the understandings of his disciples to the true 
meaning of these prophecies, in order to substantiate 
his claims to the Messiahship. It cannot, therefore^ 
be an unimportant matter for us to examine. It con- 
cerns the foundation of our hopes^ It is, also, a mat- 
ter of deep practical interest, because it leads us into 
a right understanding of the grand design of the com* 
ing of Christ, and his sufferings and death. 

I therefore request the reader to follow me in an 
examination of these prophecies and their fulfilment* 
But before we proceed a, I would remark that we have 
all the materials for conducting such an examination 
impartially. The Scriptures which contain these pre- 
phecies, are sustained by evidence entirely independ- 
ent of those which contain the account of their fulfil^ 
ment ; and those which contain the account of their 
fulfilment, are sustained by evidence entirely inde- 
pendent of those which contain the predictions ; and 
here they meet together, and prove each other. The 
Old Testament, in the hands of Christians, is the same 
Hs that in the hands of the Jews. The Jews have 
such convincing evidence of the divine authority of 
their Scriptures, that they have never dared to erase 
these prophecies, though they prove that He whom 
they crucified is the true Messiah ; nor have any of 
their writers ever disproved, or even denied, the main 
facts narrated in the New Testament, which show the 
correspondence between these prophecies and Jesus 



188 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 

Christ. There are prophecies, also, concerning the 
prevalence of Christianity, the fulfilment of which is 
recorded in profane history. So, also, some of the 
prophecies concerning Christ himself, are found to be 
in accordance with facts recorded in profane history. 
With these observations, I proceed to the consid- 
eration of these prophecies, and their fulfilment. And 
I shall include, under this term, the promises^ as well 
as direct predictions. 

I. The first intimation of a Saviour was graciously 
given immediately after the fall ; and even before the 
curse was pronounced upon our first parents, that it might 
not fall so heavily upon them, as to 6verwhelm them 
in despair. In pronouncing sentence upon the ser- 
pent, the Almighty said, '' I will put enmity between 
thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her 
seed ; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise 
his heel." This has received a literal fulfilment In 
the enmity which has always existed between the nat- 
ural seed of the woman and the natural seed of the 
serpent. But it has a spiritual meaning of far higher 
import. In the fourth chapter of Galatians, Paul, 
speaking of the promises made to Abraham and his 
seed, says, '' He saith not. And to seeds, as of many; 
but as of one. And to thy seed, which Is Christ." 
This gives us a clue to the meaning of seed^ in the 
passage under consideration. And as Christ is the 
spiritual head of his people, this will apply not only to 
Christ and Satan, but also to their spiritual seed ; the 
wicked being accounted, as our Saviour Informs us, 
the children of the devil, and believers in Christ, the 



PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 189 

children of God, by virtue of their union with him. 
Now it is a well known fact, that there has always 
been enmity between the spiritual seed of the serpent, 
and the spiritual seed of the woman. The seed of 
the serpent have always hated and persecuted the seed 
of the woman. This persecution began with Cain, 
and has continued ever since. But in this contest, 
the seed of the woman, through their Divine Head, 
have always been triumphant ; though for a time the 
children of the evil One have prevailed. When the 
good seed were in danger of being swallowed up by 
the violence of the old world, their Divine Head 
swept off their enemies from the face of the earth, by 
a flood of waters. So, also, the seed of the woman 
bruised the serpent's head, in the overthrow of Sodom, 
as a signal display of his care over the church, to 
overawe the wicked inhabitants of the land, lest his 
people in their feebleness should be cut off. Again, 
he bruised the head of the serpent in the deliverance 
of his people from the land of Egypt ; and likewise 
in all the signal deliverances which he wrought for 
them, when their enemies w^ere ready to swallow them 
up. But this was done most triumphantly, when 
Christ came into the world to destroy the works 
of the devil, and triumphed over them on the cross, 
and in the resurrection. The works of the devil 
were the introduction of sin and death into the world. 
Christ has destroyed these works, by atoning for sin, 
and triumphing over death. Satan bruised his heel, 
when he assaulted him with temptations and persecu- 
tions, and procured his crucifixion. Christ bruised 
his head when he cast him out of those persons into 



190 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 

whom he had entered, thus showing his power over 
him ; and when he made provision for the dehver- 
ance of those whom Satan had led captive at his will. 
And he will do this completely, when he shall deliver 
his church from all her enemies, and provide them a 
secure abode in his kingdom of glory, secure from all 
the assaults of the Adversary ; while he will cast the 
serpent and his seed into outer darkness, to be tor- 
mented forever and ever. 

'" There is some evidence that the spiritual meaning 
of this was in a measure understood by our first pa- 
rents. Adam seems to express his faith in this prom- 
ise, by the name which he afterwards gave to the 
woman. He called her Eve^ which signifies Life^ 
^' because she was the mother of all living ;" or, as it 
may be rendered, ''the living One," alluding to the 
promised seed, who was to restore that life, which 
was lost by transgression. Eve also seems to have 
manifested her faith in the promised Saviour, by the 
expressions which she made on the birth of Cain and 
Seth. There appears to be an allusion, in these ex- 
pressions, to the promised seed. So that there is some 
ground for the opinion expressed by Pres. Edwards, 
that Adam and Eve were themselves the first fruits of 
Christ's redemption. It is true, that the intimations 
of a Saviour to come, at this early period, were ob- 
scure ; and they did not probably give the patriarchs 
a very definite idea of the way of salvation ; yet 
enough was revealed to enable them to exercise faith 
in Him that was to come. And this obscurity is just 
what we might naturally expect, in the beginning of a 



PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 19 1 

revelation that was gradually to unfold itself through 



11. The next intinnation we have of a Saviour, in 
the form of a prediction or promise, is, in the promises 
made to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 
There were, however, other intimations of the same 
event, in the form of types ; but of these I purpose 
to speak separately. This was given more than two 
thousand years after the first ; and it was a little less 
obscure. The promise is substantially the same, as 
given at different times to the patriarchs ; and it has 
reference not to Christ only, but to the spiritual seed, 
of whom Christ is the head. It is substantially ex- 
pressed in these words, — '' I will be a God unto thee 
and to thy seed ; and in thy seed shall all the families of 
the earth be blessed." Although the promise that he 
would be a God to Abraham's seed refers primarily, 
and in a restricted sense, to his natural seed ; yet it 
can have its full accomplishment only in his spiritual 
seed, — that is to say, all true behevers, of whom, ac- 
cording to Paul, he is the spiritual father. "^ If 
this promise had reference only to his natural seed, 
there could be no sense in which it would appear that 
all the nations of the earth have been blessed in them. 
But if it is understood as referring to Christ, it is per- 
fectly clear and plain ; for it is through him that the 
nations of the earth have received all their blessings ; 
and in the extension and universal prevalence of Chris- 
tianity, this promise is yet to receive a more perfect 
and glorious accomplishment. 

* Rom. iv, 11. 



192 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 

It is to be remarked, as we proceed, that every 
new promise or prediction, and every new dispensa- 
tion, brings with it an increase of light. The intima- 
tion given indirectly, immediately after the fall, was 
obscure. This, to Abraham, is direct and plain. 
Yet nothing was given in detail, but it was left for 
Abraham's faith to rest upon this simple declaration of 
God. But as we proceed w^e shall perceive the ob- 
scurity gradually receding, and the light breaking 
clearer and more clearly upon our vision ; until at 
length it beams forth in perfect day. 

III. The next prediction is that of Job. It is 
uncertain whether Job lived before or after Abraham ; 
but probably he was either cotemporary with Abra- 
ham, or that he lived in the next succeeding genera- 
tion. He says, ''I know that my Redeemer liveth, 
and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: 
and though, after my skin, worms destroy this body, 
yet in my flesh shall I see God : whom I shall see 
for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not anoth- 
er." The expression, ''at the latter day," evidently 
points forward to the personal appearance of the 
Saviour ; and his declaration that he sbould see him 
in his flesh, seems to allude to the resurrection of his 
own body. This shows that the patriarchs were jus- 
tified by faith in a promised Messiah. 

But I shall not have space to proceed with a par- 
ticular consideration of each prediction in its natural 
order ; and must, therefore, make a classification, 
giving in connection the several predictions which relate 
to one and the same event. We will consider, then, 



PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 193 

IV. The prophecies which were fulfilled in the 
birth of Christ. The prophet Isaiah has this remarka- 
ble prediction concerning the birth of a prince, of the 
Jewish nation, who was to set up a kingdom that 
should have no end. The character here given to 
this prince could only appertain to one who unites in 
himself the human and divine natures : '' Unto us 
a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the gov- 
ernment shall be upon his shoulder ; and his name 
shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty- 
God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." 
This description applies, with very great exactness, 
to Jesus of Nazareth, if we allow him to have been 
both divine and human ; and it applies to no other 
person that was ever born. Isaiah also predicts that 
he should also be born of a virgin, and that his name 
should be called Immanuel, which means God with 
us.^ Though there are some obscurities connected 
with this passage, yet it is evident that it could apply 
to no other person but Jesus Christ. No other per- 
son could properly be called '' God with us." More- 
over, it is said in the verse following, '' Butter and 
honey shall he eat, that he may know to choose the 
evil from the good," — i. e. he shall be fed and nour- 
ished as other children are, till of sufficient age to dis- 
criminate between good and evil, when he shall choose 
the good and refuse the evil. This we find exactly 
fulfilled in the history of Christ ; and Matthew quotes 
this prophecy, as having received its accomplishment 
in the birth of Jesus. We find also, that he was 

* Isa. vii, 14 ; ix, 6. 
17 



194 PROPHECIES CON^CERNING CHRIST. 

nourished in the same manner as other children ; but^, 
unlike them, when of sufficient age to discern between* 
good and evil, he chose the good and refused the* 
evil, while .all other children choose the evil, and re- 
fuse the goad. This shows that Christ was to be 
born without any stain of original corruption ; and to 
this fact the apostle testifies, wlien he says he was^ 
made in all things like his brethren, and yet without 
sin. There is an allusion to this, also, in the first 
promise, where he is called the '^ seed of the woman,'^ 
in distinction from the rest of mankind, showing that 
his birth was to be extraordinary, and out of the com- 
mon course of nature. 

The place ^ also, w^here Christ should beborn, was 
predicted by the prophet Micah, that it should be in 
Bethlehem, the native town of David. ^ And it is 
remarkable how the Providence of God secured the 
fulfilment of this prophecy. His parents were resi- 
ding in Nazareth, of Galitee. But the decree of. 
Caesar required that every one should go to the city^ 
of his fathers, where the records of the family were, 
which contained their genealogy, to be enrolled for the 
taxing. This illustrates the great truth, that the hand 
of God is in all the movements of kings7 empires, and 
governments ; and that while they think of nothing but 
the gratification of their awn ambitious views, they are 
fulfilling grand designs of his Providence. So it is 
with sinners. God makes use of them, even while 
they are opposing his truth, to accomplish his will.. 
And if they do not turn, and engage cheerfully in do- 

♦Micah v^ 2. 



PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 195 

ing his will, he will make use of them at last, to burn 
forever in hell, to the glory of his justice. Sinners 
are in God's hands ; and, willing or unwilling, he will 
make use of them to glorify himself. 

V. The next class of predictions which I shall 
notice is, those that relate to the nation, tribe, and 
family, of whom Christ should come. When the 
Lord called Abraham, he intimated to him that the 
promised seed should be of his posterity ; and from 
among his children, Isaac^ the child of promise, was 
selected as the progenitor of the Messiah. The prom- 
ise was repeated to Isaac ; and between his two sons, 
the choice was made before their birth. Isaac was 
made, contrary to his ow^n intention, to point out 
Jacob as the line of the promised seed. The prom- 
ise was also renewed to Jacob at Penuel, where he 
saw the ladder reaching up to heaven, and repeatedly 
afterwards. Jacob points out Judah, among his chil- 
dren, as the head of the tribe of whom Christ was to 
come. To David, the Lord promised a perpetual 
throne and kingdom, which should endure forever. 
If this were to be understood literally, of the earthly 
kingdom of his family, it would not be true ; but un- 
derstanding it of the Messiah^ its fulfilment is now ac- 
complishing in Jesus Christ. The prophets, Isaiah 
and Jeremiah, also predict the same thing ; and we 
find undisputed evidence, in the New Testament, that 
Christ came of the family of David, the tribe of Judah, 
the offspring of Jacob and Isaac, and the seed of 
Abraham, according to the promises. 



196 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 

VI. The time of Christ's coming is predicted. 
Jacob says, '^ The sceptre shall not depart from 
Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until 
Shiloh come."^ Sceptre is here used as the emblem 
of authority. It is interpreted likewise here, as re- 
ferring to the distinct tribeship. By the history of 
the Israelites, it will appear that the tribe of Judah 
very soon attained to pre-eminence over the rest of 
the tribes, having the kingly authority and superiority 
of numbers ; till at length, after the captivity, the 
remnants of the other tribes became absorbed in the 
tribe of Judah, being called Jews, from the head of 
their tribe. And they continued to maintain their 
tribeship and government, under the posterity of 
Judah, till the coming of Jesus Christ. But the en- 
rolment for taxing, under the Roman government, 
commenced at the birth of Christ. This taxing v^as 
a sign of subjection, as a Roman province ; and a few 
years after, Herod, the last king of the Jews, (him- 
self an Edomite) died, and Judea was parcelled out 
into several provinces, under Roman governors ; and 
in a few years after the completion of Christ's minis- 
try, the Jews were completely broken up, and dis- 
persed to the four quarters of the earth, so that no 
tribeship, government, or authority remained. 

There is a prophecy, also, in Haggai, which fixes 
the coming of Christ during the existence of the 
second temple, — the one erected after the destruc- 
tion of Solomon's temple, and the return from cap- 
tivity : '' I will shake all nations, and the desire of 

*Geii. xlix, 10. 



PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 197 

all nations shall come : and I will fill this house with 
my glory, saith the Lord of hosts. The glory of this 
latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the 
Lord of hosts : and in this place will I give peace, saith 
the Lord of hosts. "^ This was spoken to the Jews, 
with respect to the temple that was built after the re- 
turn of the captivity. But this temple, according to 
the testimony of the same prophet, was nothing in the 
eyes of those who had seen its first glory ; and Ezra 
informs us that it was so inferior, that those who had 
seen the first temple, and remembered its magnifi- 
cence, wept when they saw this. So that this could 
not have been spoken literally of the temple itself. It 
is true, this temple was afterwards adorned and beauti- 
fied by Herod the Great ; yet the Shechinah, or visible 
glory of the Lord, which filled the temple of Solo- 
mon, never came into the second temple. So that 
the only explanation which can be given of this is, to 
refer it to the Messiah, who is called the Desire of 
all nations,-— the great Deliverer, so long promised to 
the Jews, and desired by other nations, and in whom 
all the nations of the earth were to be blessed. In 
this sense, God did fill that house with his glory ; and 
Its glory was greater than the glory of the former ; for 
Jesus Christ, who visited the second temple, was 
'' One Greater than the temple" itself. 

The coming of the Messiah is also fixed during the 
dominion of the Roman empire, by the Prophecy of 
Daniel. The image, which Nebuchadnezzar saw, 
represented the four universal monarchies, that of 

* Hag. ii, 7. 

17* 



198 MOPHlECIiSS CONCERNING CHRIST. 

Babylon^ of the Medes and Persians, of the Greeks^ 
and of the Romans. Nebuchadnezzar saw a stone 
cut out of the mountain without hands, which smote 
the image in his feet, and it was broken to pieces, 
and became like chafF before the wind ; and the little 
stone became a great mountain, and filled the whole 
earth. Daniel, in his explanation of this dream, 
declares this little stone to be the kingdom of the 
Messiah ; and as the feet which it smote represented 
the fourth kingdom, — the Roman empire, it agrees 
with the time when Jesus came.* 

There is also another prophecy of Daniel, which 
fixes more definitely the time of Christ's coming. 

*This prophecy has its fulfilment, in the establishment and 
propagation of Christianity. The stone was cut out of the moun- 
tain without hands ; that is, without the usUal implements em- 
ployed for such purposes. So the kingdom of Christ arose, with- 
out any carnal weapons or instruments of power. The image 
which Nebuchadnezzar saw, represented the four universal mon- 
archies, which were now existing in the Isst, — the feet of iron and 
clay, which represented the Roman empire. But Christianity 
smote this image in its feet. It was the gradual influence of 
Christianity, which undermined, and at length overturned the 
dominion of Pagan Rome ; and finally the empire itself; which 
was ** broken in pieces," a number of Christian states rising out 
of its ruins. This little stone has been extending^ — it has long 
been a great mountain, — and it is destined finally to fill the whole 
earth. There are also a great number of other prophecies concern- 
ing the propagation and final and universal prevalence of Christianity, 
which either have been fulfilled, which are now fulfilling, or which 
are yet to be fulfilled ; all of which furnish strong additional proof 
of the inspiration of the Scriptures ; but their full elucidation 
would require a much larger space than could be given in this vol* 



1>R0PHECIES CONCEllNlNG CHttlST. 199 

The angel Gabriel says to Daniel, '' Seventy weeks 
are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy 
tJity, to finish the transgression, and to make an end 
of sins, and to make reconciliati'on for iniquity, and to 
bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the 
vision and the prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. 
Know, therefore, and understand, that from the go- 
ing forth of the commandment to restore and to build 
Jerusalem, unto Messiah the prince, shall be seven 
weeks, and three score and two weeks. And after 
threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, 
but not for himself : and the people of the prince 
that shall come, shall destroy the city and the sanctu- 
ary. And he shall confirm the covenant with many 
for one week, and in the midst of the week he shall 
cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. '^ 

In prophetic language, each day is taken for a year. 
Thus God says to Ezekiel, in requiring him to lie in 
a certain position a certain number of days, for a sign 
to the people, '' I have appointed thee each day 
for a year." It was common, also, among the Jews, 
to reckon weeks of years. The seventh was their 
Sabbatical year ; and seven of these weeks of years 
brought them to their year of Jubilee. Daniel's sev- 
isnty weeks, therefore, would be four hundred and 
ninety years. The only difficulty with respect to this 
period is, the fixing of the date of its commencement, 
there being four decrees for the return of the Jews. 
But whichever of these is adopted, the period of 
Christ's coming is pointed out with sufficient exact- 
ness. The following explanation of this period by 



200 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 

Dr. Kett, is the most satisfactory of any that I have 
met with : — 

'^ The leading circumstances to be considered in 
examining the accomplishment of this prediction, are^ 
the completion of the time specified, and the events 
connected with it. All agree that these seventy 
weeks are weeks of years, that is, every day in the 
week is reckoned as a year, which makes the whole 
number amount to four hundred and ninety years. 
This computation is not unexampled in profane au- 
thors, and is used elsewhere in Scripture. It is 
used in reckoning the years of the Jubilee, *- — the time 
of sojourning in the wilderness,! and in the prophecy 
of Ezekiel.:j: These seventy weeks commence in the 
Jewish month Nisan, or March, in the seventh year 
of the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus, King of Per- 
sia, in the year of the world 3547, as is clearly shown 
by many accurate chronologists, and proved at large 
by the learned Prideaux, in his Connexion of the His- 
tory of the Old and New Testament with Profane 
History. This was the distinguished year and month 
in which Ezra, the leader of the Jews, obtained a 
commission for his return to Jerusalem, in order 
to restore the government of that city and the ser- 
vice of the temple. And the seventy weeks were 
completed in the month Nisan, in the year of the 
world 4037. This was the ever memorable year 
and fnonth when Jesus Christ, the Messiah, closed 
his Divine mission, and suffered death upon the 
cross* 



♦ Lev. XXV, 8. t Numb, xiv, 34. t Ezek. iv, 5, 6. 



PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 201 

'' It is evident that various events are predicted by- 
Daniel, in this remarkable prophecy. The Messiah 
shall be cut qff^ — the people of the Prince shall come^ 
shall destroy the city and the sanctuary^ — desolations 
are determined^ and the sacrifice and the oblation shall 
cease for the overspreading of abominations, 

'' Now there are no occurrences in the Jewish his- 
tory, to which these circumstances can be at all ap- 
plied, except to the crucifixion of Christ, — the final 
destruction of the city and temple of Jerusalem, and 
the desolation of Judea by the Romans. But to those 
great events the words of the prophecy apply with such 
singular exactness, that they give a very energetic and 
lively description of them. And it may be farther 
observed, that this prophecy very plainly delineates 
the spiritual purposes of the gospel ; for at the com- 
pletion of this great epoch of the seventy weeks, it is 
determined to make reconciliation for iniquity^ — to 
bring in everlasting righteousness ^ and to seal up the 
vision and the prophecy ^ — thus pointing out Christ, 
the Messiah, who died as the propitiatory sacrifice 
for the sins of the world, — -rose again to certify that 
he had made atonement for sin, and established the 
promised ' kingdom of everlasting righteousness and 
life,' — and sealed up the vision and the prophecy by 
his final revelation of the Divine will to his beloved 
disciple St. John, the last of the prophets. 

'' Three difl^erent periods of time are included 
within the seventy weeks, and each of them is con- 
nected with an important event. The seven weeks to 
restore and rebuild Jerusalem, — the three score and 
two weeks^ in addition to these seven weeks, after 



202 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 

which the Messiah was to be cut off: — and the midst 
of the iveekj in which he should cause the sacrifice and 
oblation to cease. The first series of seven weeks, 
being forty-nine years, relates to the restoration of the 
Jews, and the rebuilding Jerusalem, begun by Ezra, 
and com)3leted by Nehemiah. The opposition which 
the Jews, when returned from captivity, met with 
from the Samaritans, prolonged the sacred work ex- 
actly for that period of time ; and the obstacles with 
which they had to contend, fully confirmed the words 
of the prophet, that the wall should be built in troub- 
lous times. The threescore and two weeks that suc- 
ceeded, added to the foregoing seven, or in other 
words, four hundred and eighty-three years, bring the 
calculation of time down to the year 4739 of the Juli- 
an period, which was the exact year in which the gos- 
pel began to be announced to the world, — John the 
Baptist having been sent to prepare the Jew^s for its 
reception by his public ministry, which continued for 
the space of three years and a half. Its commence- 
ment at this period is accurately marked by the words 
of Christ, who said expressly, Uhe law^ and the pro- 
phets were until John, since that time the kingdom of 
God is preached. '=^ And our Lord himself, in the 
midst of the week, caused the sacrifice and oblation to 
cease ; for at that time, having completed the exercise 
of his divine mission in exactly the space of three 
years and a half, he fulfilled the great object of the 
ceremonial law, which was the type of atonement for 
sin by the sacrifice of himself upon the cross. 

* Luke xvi, 16. 



PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 203 

" So confident were the Jews, as to the precise 
application of the prophecy, that this saying is still ex* 
tant in the Talmud, as the tradition of very ancient 
times. ' In Daniel is delivered to us the end of the 
Messiah ;' — that is, the period at which he ought to 
come, as Jarchi, a celebrated doctor of the law, ex- 
plains it. Nehumias, likewise a learned Rabbi, who 
lived fifty years before the Christian era, declared, ' that 
the time fixed by Daniel for the Messiah could not be 
more than fifty years before it was accomplished.' 
And, indeed, it is acknowledged by the Jews them- 
selves, that the time when Jesus appeared, the Mes- 
siah was expected ; and that the period, which Daniel 
had fixed, expired but a short time before the city and 
temple were destroyed by Titus, — before the custom- 
ary sacrifices were abolished, — -and before the Jewish 
government was overthrown. 

'' It is a very striking fact, in proof of the general 
belief of the Jewish nation respecting the time of the 
Messiah's appearance, that from the death of Herod 
the Great, when Judas of Galilee and Simon first 
assumed the title of kings and deliverers of the Jews, 
to the destruction of the temple, the Jewish history is 
filled with the names and actions of false Christs and 
false prophets, who deceived both the Jews and the 
Samaritans. None appeared before this period, and 
not more than one for five or six centuries after iu 

" According as the reader shall reject or admit the 
hypothesis concerning the religion of the eastern na- 
tions, which many learned authors have labored to 
establish, he will suppose the general expectation 
which prevailed among the heathen nations to owe its 



204 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 

origin to the dispersion of Daniel's prophecy by the 
Jews^ or he will trace it to the patriarchal ages. The 
universality of this expectation would alone render it 
highly probable that the kirvowledge of prophecy con- 
firmed and corrected tradition, rather than produced 
it. But if it be granted, and I see not how it can be 
denied, that the hope of a Redeemer was given in the 
very earliest times, and continued to exist throughout 
the world, though obscured and deformed by allegory 
and idolatry, probability rises almost into certainty." 

With these facts before us, who will say that Dan- 
iePs seventy weeks failed to designate the time of 
Christ's coming ? 

VII. The next prediction which I shall notice is 
that of Moses, to the children of Israel:* '^ I will 
raise them up a prophet, from among their brethren, 
like unto thee." Stephen, in his address before the 
Sanhedrim,! applies this prophecy to Christ ; and it 
is manifest that there has never been any other person 
to whom it would apply. God spake to Moses face 
to face ; but never to any other prophet, till Christ 
€ame, to whom he spake in an audible voice ; and 
who declared himself, that the Father showed him all 
things that He himself did. 

VIII. The prophecies concerning the Spirit of 
God resting on the Messiah, were accomplished in 
Jesus Christ. The Psalmist, speaking of Christ, 
says, ''God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the 

* Deut. xviii, 15* t Acts vii, 87. 



PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 205 

oil of gladness, above thy fellows."* All other kings 
and priests were anointed with consecrated oil or per- 
fume. But the Messiah was to be anointed with an 
oil above this ; and what could this be, unless it were 
spiritual ? Hence we find on the day of Christ's bap- 
tism, when he was initiated into his ministry, the Holy 
Ghost rested upon him, in the symbol of a dove ; 
which was an anointing infinitely above that of any 
other king or priest. The prophet Isaiah says, 
*^ There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of 
Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots : and 
the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit 
of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and 
might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the 
Lord : and shall make him of quick understanding, in 
the fear of the Lord : and he shall not judge after the 
sight of his eyes."* This corresponds exactly with 
the accounts given of Jesus. John says, " God giv- 
eth not his Spirit by measure unto him ;" and if not 
by measure, it must be infinite in degree, which could 
not be said of any but an Infinite Being. It appears, 
also, from the accounts given of Jesus by the evange- 
lists, that he was endowed with the spirit of wisdom 
and understanding above men, so that he was able to 
confound the most subtle of the Jewish doctors. He 
was possessed, also, in an eminent degree, of the 
spirit of piety, which is what is meant by " the fear of 
the Lord." The character of Jesus Christ for piety is 
not sufficiently thought of. Besides those seasons of 
protracted communion with God, which he had in 

♦ Ps. xlv, 7 ; Is. xi, 1-3. 
18 



20e PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 

solitary places, in the mountains and in the desert, he 
was habitually devout, to such a degree, that every 
word that he spake seemed to come burning from the 
throne of God. We also find him often engaged in 
prayer with his disciples ; and this is spoken of in 
such a manner as to show that the practice was habit-^ 
uaL In one place^ it is said, '' it came to pass, as he 
was alone praying ;" again it is said, '' it came to pass 
as he was praying in a certain place." The inciden- 
tal manner in which this is alluded to,, in the narrative 
of other events, shows that it was his customary and 
common practice to pray with his disciples. We 
also find him ia the act of prayer, in all the most 
eventful periods of his life. Thus he was praying 
when the Holy Ghost fell on him, at the time of his 
baptism. It was while engaged in prayer that the fash- 
ion of his countenance was changed, and he was trans- 
figured on tlie holy mount. And it was- while he was 
engaged in prayer that he sweat great drops of blood, 
falling down to the ground, for the ransom of his peo- 
ple. Nor was his piety less conspicuous in his gen- 
eral spirit than in his habits of devotion. His was a 
self-sacrificing spirit. His will was identified with the 
will of God. He had no will of his own, separate 
from the will of the Father. It was his meat and 
and drink to do the will of God. His compassion for 
sinners, also, was unbounded. His care for souls was 
most intense. He wept over sinners. Yea, he laid 
down his life for them. Such was the spirit of piety 
and habitual devotion, that a holy atmosphere sur- 
rounded him, which filled even his opposers with awe. 
And,, according t© the prophecy, he did not judge 



PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 207 

after the sight of his eyes ; for he discerned even the 
secret thoughts of men. 

IX. The ivorks of Jesus correspond with the pre- 
dictions concerning the Messiah. Isaiah, speaking of 
the coming of the Messiah, says, ''' The eyes of the 
Wind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf shall be un- 
stopped : the lame man shall leap as an liart, and the 
tongue of the dumb shall sing.''^*^ Matthew, in des- 
cribing the miracles of Jesus, says, " Great multitudes 
came unto him, having with them those that were 
lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and he 
healed them." 

X. The ministry of Jesus corresponds with the 
predictions concerning the Messiah. The Psalmist, 
speaking in the name of Christ says, '' I have preach- 
ed righteousness in the great congregation : lo, I have 
not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest."t 
Jesus preached righteousness in the great congrega- 
tion, both in the temple, in the synagogues, and in 
the open air ; and let who would be present, rulers, 
priests, scribes, or Pharisees, he refrained not his lips. 
In Isaiah it is written, '' The Spirit of the Lord God 
is upon me ; because the Lord hath anointed me to 
preach good tidings to the meek : he hath sent me to 
bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the 
captives, and the opening of the prison to them that 
are bound ; to proclaim the acceptable year of the 
Lord ; to comfort all that mourn ; to appoint unto 

* Ii. xixv, 5, 6. t Pa. il, 9. 



208 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 

ihem that mourn in Zion, the oil of joy for mourning, 
and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness."* 
Jesus applied this prophecy to himself, in the syna- 
gogue of Nazareth, his native place ; and it corres- 
ponds exactly both with the character of his own 
preaching, and the gospel which he left for his minis- 
ters to preach. The prophet says, " The Lord hath 
anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek." 
Jesus says, '' Blessed are the meek, for they shall in- 
herit the earth." Isaiah says, '' He hath sent me to 
bind up the broken hearted." Jesus said to the 
broken-hearted sinner, who came to him, ^' Go in 
peace,— thy faith hath saved thee." Isaiah mentions, 
as one object of his coming, to " proclaim liberty to 
the captives, and the opening of the prison to them 
that are bound." He proclaimed liberty to the cap- 
lives of Satan, and loosed them that were bound by 
him, while on earth ; and he still proclaims in the gos- 
pel liberty to the captives of Satan, and looses those 
that are bound by the chains of sin. The prophet 
says he should come, '' to proclaim the acceptable 
year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our 
God." The gospel of Jesus Christ proclaims that 
*' Now is the accepted time, and now is^ the day of 
salvation." It also proclaims a day of vengeance, — 
when the vengeance of God will be executed with ten 
fold fury upon the rejecters of the gospel. The pro- 
phecy says, " To comfort all that mourn ; to appoint 
unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them 
beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the gar- 

*Isa. hi, 1. 



PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 209 

ment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." Christ 
says, " Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be 
comforted," And many now living can testify that 
he has given them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for 
mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of 
heaviness. 

XL The conduct of Jesus, in regard to the ap- 
plause of men, accords with the prediction of Isaiah, 
who says, " He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause 
his voice to be heard in the street."^ Leaders in 
any exploit, in the East, or men who wish to raise a 
clamor or get up a party, bawl aloud to their compan- 
ions as they go along the street. This appears to be 
what the prophet alludes to. But it was not so with 
.Jesus. He never sought, but avoided the applause 
of men. How frequently did he cbai*ge those who 
had been healed by him to tell it to no man ; evidently 
to prevent drawing after him a multitude, and collect- 
ing a party. When he discovered to his disciples, 
also, his true character as the Messiah ; knowing the 
expectation of the Jews, that their Messiah would be 
a temporal deliverer, he charged them not to make it 
known, lest a party should be raised, to elevate him 
to the throne ; and when such a party was raised, 
with the determination to take him by force, and make 
him a king, he departed into a desert place, to avoid 
them. So true it was, that he did not cry, nor lift 
up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 

♦ Isa. xlii, 2. 
18* 



210 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 

XIL The character of Christ, as a sufferer^ cor- 
responds with the predictions concerning him. Isaiah 
says, '^ His visage was so marred more than any man, 
and his form more than the sons of men.''* '^ He is 
despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and 
acquainted with grief : and we hid as it were our faces 
from him ; he was despised, and we esteemed him 
not." This agrees exactly with the accounts given 
of his sufferings, during the whole of his life. His 
early life was spent in poverty and hard labor. He 
suffered, in the commencement of his ministry, from 
the severest conflicts with the Tempter. And we may 
judge something of the sufferings of his holy soul from 
this source, by the pain experienced oftentimes by the 
sincere Christian, from the horrible suggestions of the 
Adversary. But this pain arises from the small de- 
gree of holiness possessed by the believer, — these 
wicked thoughts being so opposed to the new prin- 
ciple implanted in him by Divine grace. What, then, 
must have been the feelings of the holy Jesus, upon 
whose soul no spot of sin ever rested, to be enticed to 
tempt God, and to fall down and worship Satan, and 
accept of his usurped dominion over the earth ? He 
suffered, also, from fatigue, and hunger, ^nd poverty, 
during his ministry. He performed his journeys 
through all the cities and villages, and through the 
desert countries on foot. Often he was hungry and 
weary ; yet at night he had not where to lay his head, — 
no place that he could call his home. Even the foxes 
and the birds of the air were better provided for than 

* Isa. lii, 14 ; liii, 3. 



PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 211 

the Lord of life and glory. He suffered, likewise, 
from grief. Jesus was a perfect man^ as well as a 
divine person. The sensibilities of human nature 
must, therefore, have been with him most acute. 
He must have been tenderly alive to all those things 
which excite the tender and sympathetic emotions ; 
and when these were wounded, his grief must have 
been most intense. What, then, must have been his 
feelings, when he looked abroad over suffering human- 
ity ; when he beheld all the ruins which sin has made 
in this fair and beautiful world ; w^hen he saw so many 
souls perishing ; but especially, when all his efforts to 
save lost men, were looked upon with cold disdain, 
his motives traduced, his conduct viewed with sus- 
picion, all his movements watched with an evil eye, 
his doctrines and works misrepresented, and he him- 
self reviled, traduced, vilified, and persecuted, by the 
very beings he came to save ? We have incidental 
allusions to his feelings in these circumstances. He 
was often moved with pity for the sufferings of the 
sick and infirm. His compassion was tenderly touch- 
ed, when he saw the widow of Nain following her only 
son to the grave. He wept over the grave of his 
friend Lazarus. He was grieved, when he saw the 
hardness of men's hearts, on proclaiming to them the 
word of life. And we have reason to believe that 
*' his visage was so marred" by these sufferings, as to 
produce the appearance of premature age ; for when 
he spoke of Abraham's having seen his day, the Jews 
replied, '' Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast 
thou seen Abraham .'*" showing that they took him 
to be approaching the age of fifty years ; whereas, he 



212 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 

was but a little more than thirty. But all this was 
nothing, in comparison with the untold agonies which 
he suffered in the garden and on the cross ; when his 
soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death ; when 
he sweat great drops of blood, falling down to the 
ground ; when he cried out, " My God ! My God ! 
why hast thou forsaken me !" while breathing out his 
life, under the infinite weight of our sins, which were 
laid upon him. Surely he was a man of sorrows and 
acquainted with grief. 

XIII. The character of Christ's enemies corres- 
ponds with that given them in prophecy. David says, 
>' Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine 
a vain thing ? The kings of the earth set themselves, 
and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, 
and against his anointed ?"^^ The apostles, in their 
prayer, in the fourth chapter of Acts, apply this to 
Jesus ; and the application is complete. Here is the 
rage of the heathen, in the cruel treatment, the con- 
tumely and abuse heaped upon him by the Roman 
soldiery. The people imagined a vain thing, when 
they thought to put an end to him and his work, by 
persuading the Roman government to crucify him. 
The kings of the earth, — Herod and Pontius Pilate, 
set themselves, and the rulers of the Jews took coun- 
sel against him. 

XIV. The treatment which Jesus received from 
the people, corresponds exactly with the prophecies. 

» Pb. ii, 1, 2. 



PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 213 

David says, prophetically, speaking in the name of 
Christ, " I am a reproach of men, and despised of 
the people."^ Isaiah says of the Messiah, '^ He is 
despised and rejected of men," When Jesus came 
into his own country, to preach the gospel, the people 
said, " Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these 
mighty works ? Is not this the carpenter^s son ? Is not 
his mother called Mary ? And his brethren James, 
and Joses, and Simon, and Judas ? And his sisters, 
are they not all with us? Whence, then, hath this man 
all these things. And they were offended in him." 
According to the prophecy of David, they despised 
him, and reproached him with the meanness of his 
birth, and with his former occupation. The Scribes 
also reproached him, calling him a blasphemer ; and 
others accused him of being intemperate, because 
he, in compassion, and for the purpose of doing 
them good, associated with publicans and sinners. 
He was hated, persecuted, and rejected, by his own 
people, whom he came to save, " He came unto his 
own, and his own received him not." 

XV. The trial and condemnation of Jesus also 
accord with the predictions concerning the same. 
Isaiah says, '' He was taken from prison and from 
judgment. "f That is, he was not placed in custody, 
and allowed a reasonable time to prepare for trial, as 
was usual with those who were accused ; but he was 
arrested, and immediately put upon his trial. And 
he was taken from just judgment, by being deprived 

* Ps. xxii, and Isa. liii. t Isa. liii. 



214 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 

of a fair trial, false witnesses being allowed to testify 
against him ; and yet, when the judge pronounced 
him innocent, he was taken from this judgment, and 
delivered over to be crucified. 

XVL There is a very exact and striking agree- 
ment between the prediction and the event in regard 
to the manner in which Jesus was delivered up to his 
enemies. The prophet Zechariah, in a symbolical 
action, typifying Christ, said to the people, ''If ye 
think good, give me my price ; and if not, forbear. 
So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. 
And the Lord said unto me, cast it unto the potter : 
a goodly price that I was prized at of them. And I 
took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the 
potter in the house of the Lord."^ The manner in 
which this price is here spoken of, shows that it was 
regarded as an expression of contempt ; and so the chief 
priests doubtless regarded it, for it was the price of a 
slave. The manner in which it was thrown back upon 
them, and given to the potter, agrees exactly with the 
event ; for Judas went into the temple and cast down 
the thirty pieces of silver ; and the chief priests gave 
them for the potter's field. It was also predicted 
concerning Judas, that his days should be few, and 
another should take his office. Like Ahithophel, the 
traitorous counsellor of David, who appears to have 
been a type of Judas, he went and hanged him- 
self ; and another person was appointed to take his 
office. 

*Zech. xi, 12, 13. 



PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 215 

XVII. The conduct of Christ's disciples, on the 
occasion of his being taken, was predicted by the pro- 
phet Zechariah : '^ Awake, O sword, against my shep- 
herd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the 
Lord of hosts : smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall 
be scattered."'^ Jesus, in the night on which he w^as 
betrayed, applied this prophecy to hiniself, and pre- 
dicted its fulfilment : " All ye," said he to his dis- 
ciples, '' shall be offended because of me this night : for 
it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep 
of the flock shall be scattered abroad." And Mark 
records that, when Jesus was arrested, all his disci- 
ples forsook him and fled. 

XVIII. Christ's conduct before Pilate was also 
predicted : Isaiahf says, '' He was oppressed, and he 
was afliicted ; yet he opened not his mouth : he is 
brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep 
before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his 
mouth." When Jesus was accused by the chief 
priests and elders, before Pilate, he answered nothing. 
And when Pilate inquired of him, " Hearest thou not 
how many things they witness against thee .^" he made 
no answer. When he was brought before Herod, 
also, and questioned in many words, he answered him 
nothing. 

XIX. The treatment of Christ on his trial and on 
the cross, was also predicted. The prophet Isaiah, 
speaking in the name of the Messiah, says, ''I gave 

• Zech. xiii, 7. f Isa. liii. 



216 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 

my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that 
plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from shame 
and spitting."* The prophet Micah says, ''they 
shall smite the Judge of Israel with a rod upon his 
cheek. "t David, speaking in the name of Christ, 
says, '' All they that see me laugh me to scorn : they 
shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He 
trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him, seeing 
he delighted in him."| And again, " They gave me 
gall for my meat ; and in my thirst they gave me vine- 
gar to drink." All these were fulfilled most literally, 
and with surprising exactness, by the enemies of Jesus 
themselves. Matthew records, '' Then did they spit 
in his face, and buffeted him ; and others smote him 
with the palms of their hands." The same evan- 
gelist records, also, that Jesus was scourged, — ^he 
gave his back to the smiters. They that passed by 
reviled him, wagging their heads. And the chief 
priests and elders mocked him, using the very words 
of the prophecy, saying, '' He saved others, himself 
he cannot save. He trusted in God, let him deliver 
him now, if he will have him." Matthew records 
that they gave him vinegar to drink, mingled with 
gall ; and John, that when he cried out with thirst, 
they gave him vinegar to drink ; thus fulfilling the pre- 
diction of the Psalmist, " They gave gall for my 
meat ; and in my thirst, they gave me vinegar to 
drink." There is also an exact correspondence be- 
tween the language of David, in the beginning of the 
twenty-second Psalm, spoken prophetically in the 

♦ Isa. 1, 6. t Mi. T, 1. * Pi^. xiii, 7 ; Uir, 21. 



PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 217 

name of Christ, and that of Jesus on the cross, '' My 
God ! My God ! Why hast thou forsaken me !" The 
death of the Messiah is also directly predicted by 
Isaiah and Daniel, — ''he was cut off out of the land 
of the living," — He poured out his soul unto death," 
— "Messiah shall be cut off." The piercing of his 
hands and feet was predicted by David, in the twenty- 
second Psalm, — also, the parting of his garments 
among his murderers, and casting lots for his vesture. 
Zechariah also speaks of his being pierced. The cir- 
cumstances of his death and burial are likewise pre- 
dicted by Isaiah. His crucifixion between the two 
thieves was a fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah, that 
he should be numbered with the transgressors. The 
prophet says, also, that " He made his grave with the 
wicked, and with the rich in his death : because he 
had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his 
mouth." It was customary for malefactors, not only 
to have an ignominious death, but also an ignominious 
burial ; and this was, doubtless, the design of his ene- 
mies, when they secured his crucifixion between two 
malefactors ; but " because he had done no violence," 
— because Pilate knew that he was innocent, he gave 
up his body to .Joseph, that he might have an honora- 
ble burial; so that he was "with the rich in his 
death." 

XX. The resurrection and ascension of Christ 
were also predicted. David, as the type of Christ, 
says, " Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, (i. e. the 
grave), neither wilt thou suffer thine holy One to see 
corruption." This prediction is applied to this event, 
19 



218 PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 

by the Apostle Peter, in his address on the day of 
Pentecost. And we lea'rn from the answer of Mar- 
tha to Christ, in regard to Lazarus, that it was the 
prevailing opinion among the Jews, that corruption 
took place with the dead before the fourth day ; so 
that if he saw no corruption, he must arise from the 
dead before that day. That he did rise on the third 
day, according to his ow^n prediction, will appear clear 
from an examination of the accounts given by the evan- 
gelists. He was crucified the day before their Sab- 
bath, which was our Friday ; and he arose from the 
dead on the morning of the first day of the week^ 
which was the third day ; and reckoning the part of 
Friday and part of Monday as whole days, according 
to the custom of the Jews, we have three days that 
he was in the grave. His ascension was also foretold 
by David: ^' Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast 
led captivity captive." It was on the event of his 
resurrection, that Jesus rested the proof of his Mes- 
siahship. When the Jews required of him a sign, he 
replied, '' destroy this temple," speaking of his own 
body, '' and in three days I will raise it up." And 
on another occasion, he told them that there should no 
sign be given them but that of the proptret Jonah, — 
that as he was three days in the whale's belly, so the 
Son of man should be three days in the heart of the 
earth. And in a more open and exphcit manner, he 
declared the same thing to his disciples. No impos- 
tor would have rested his claims on a foundation so 
certain of being overturned at his death. This proves 
the sincerity of Jesus ; and the event of his resurrec- 



PROPHECIES CONCERNING CHRIST. 219 

tion proves that, whatever his claims had been, they 
were just and true. 

XXI. There remains but one class of predictions 
more to be noticed ; and to this class I would call the 
special attention of all who are desirous of knowing 
the way of salvation. It is a matter of deep personal 
interest to you all. It is, as to the object of Christ s 
death. And, in regard to this, there is a most exact 
agreement between prophets and apostles, and Jesus 
himself. Isaiah says, ^' Surely he hath borne our 
griefs, and carried our sorrows ; he was wounded for 
our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities : 
tthe chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with 
his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have 
gone astray ; and the Lord hath laid on him the in- 
iquity of us all. For the transgression of my people 
was he stricken. . . • Thou shalt make his soul 
an offering for sin. . . . He bare the sin of 
many." This is the prediction of Isaiah. With this 
agree the words of Jesus, ''I lay down my hfe for 
the sheep ;" and of Peter, " His own self bare our 
sins, in his own body on the tree," — ^'Christ hath 
suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might 
bring us to God." Could any language be more ex- 
plicit ? It would be impossible for us to use any lan- 
guage more expressive of the idea of one person stand- 
ing in the place of another, and answering, by his own 
suffering, the just deserts of a guilty person. This is 
the great idea of atonement. Christ bore our griefs 
and carried our sorrows, — the griefs and sorrows 
which are the just reward of sin, — during the whole 



220 PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

period of his hnmilialion. He was wounded for our 
transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, chastised for 
our breach of the peace of God's government, re- 
ceived stripes for our healing, and his soul was made 
an offering for our sin, when he was cruelly beaten 
and lacerated with thorns, and when he hung expiring 
on the cross. 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

1. The fulfilment of these prophecies, in the per- 
son of Jesus Christ, proves the Divine inspiration, 
both of the Old and New Testaments. It proves that 
of the Old, directly, in respect to those parts which 
contain these prophecies, and the whole, by the tes- 
timony of Christ, whose character, as the true Mes- 
siah, is established by their fulfilment. This testi- 
mony I have repeatedly alluded to. It is contained 
in the text at the head of this chapter. And it is im- 
possible to separate the fact that Jesus Christ is the 
true Messiah, the Saviour of the world, from that of 
the inspiration of the whole New Testament. They 
are identified ; and the one must stand oFfall with the 
other. The fulfilment of these prophecies, therefore, 
establishes the divine origin and authority of the Chris- 
tian religion. 

2. The predictions to which I have alluded, with 
the history accompanying them, show that the great 
design of the Bible is to reveal Christ, as the Saviour 
of the w^orld. All the prophecies, promises, and 
types centre in him ; and he is the end or accomplish- 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 221 

ment of the Old Testament dispensation. But if, as 
some maintain, he was a mere teacher of religion, like 
any other prophet, apostle, or philosopher, he would 
be unworthy of such a place as he occupies in the 
revelation which God has made of himself. Who- 
ever, therefore, rejects Christ, in his character of 
the Redeemer and Saviour of men, rejects the whole 
Bible, and the way of salvation therein revealed. 

3. The whole gospel, as understood by evangeli- 
cal Christians, is revealed in the prophecy of Daniel, 
which has been quoted. The objects of the seventy 
weeks, which the angel informed him were determined 
upon his people, were, first, to '^ finish the transgres- 
sion, and to make an end of sins." These two ex- 
pressions mean the same. It is a repetition, in a dif- 
ferent form, of the same idea, after the manner of the 
Hebrew poets. It means the same as the declaration 
of the apostle, that Christ is the end of the law for 
righteousness, to every one that believeth ; and the 
righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us, who walk 
not after the flesh, but after the spirit. Christ has 
finished the transgression and made an end of sin, to 
his people, in two respects, — he has destroyed its 
power to kill the soul, by removing the curse of the 
law, which is the strength of sin, having bared his own 
bosom to the curse, and received it in our stead. He 
has also made an end of sin, by breaking its power in 
the hearts of believers, and securing their ultimate, 
complete, and entire deliverance from it. 

The second object specified in this prophecy is, to 
make reconciliation for iniquity. Here is the true 
idea of atonement. Those who reject the orthodox 
19* 



222 PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

view of the atonement, maintain that Christ came, not 
to remove any difficuhy in the way of God being re- 
conciled to man, but to reconcile man to God. But 
the prophet says it is to make reconciliation for in- 
iquity. And how has Christ made reconciliation /or 
iniquity, if not by suffering in the place of the sinner ? 
Hence Daniel says, '' Messiah shall be cut off^ but not 
for himself f"^ and if not for himself, for whom was it, 
but for the sins of his people, whom he has taken 
upon himself to save } 

But another object was, to bring in everlasting 
righteousness. And Christ has brought in everlasting 
righteousness, by providing an everlasting righteous- 
ness for his people, and securing the righteousness and 
integrity of God's government, while he pardons sin- 
ners. In Christ, righteousness and peace have kissed 
each other. He has prepared the way for rendering 
those who believe in him righteous in the sight of 
God. He has completely and entirely fulfilled the 
law of God, as our surety, in our place, and thus 
wrought out for us a robe of righteousness, clean and 
white ; and as our surety, also, he has borne the curse 
of the law for us, atoned for our sins, and completely 
justified us from their guilt. He has, alsof made pro- 
vision for cleansing us from the pollution of sin, so that 
we may have not only a judicial righteousness, to shield 
us from punishment, but a personal righteousness, to 
make us objects of complacency to Him, who is of 
''purer eyes than to behold iniquity." 

Is not here a complete and perfect salvation ? Is 
not this worthy of being revealed to patriarchs, kings, 
and prophets, for a succession of ages ? Is it not a 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 223 

scheme which angels may well desire to look into ? 
No wonder that the hearts of the two disciples of 
Jesus burned w^ithin them, as they walked with him, 
on the way to Emmaus, while, beginning at Moses, 
and all the prophets, he expounded unto them the 
Scriptures concerning himself ; showing that his suffer- 
ings and death were but fulfilling the Scriptures ; and 
shall not our hearts burn within us, while we examine 
the same Scriptures ? Will not the heart of every 
Christian wax warm, as he looks into these things, 
and discovers what his salvation has cost ? And will 
not my readers leave all attempts at legal justification, 
and come and avail themselves fully of the everlasting 
righteousness which Christ has brought in ? 

4. This subject shows the amazing stupidity and 
guilt of those who live in the neglect of the gospel. 
The developement of this scheme to save lost men, 
was thought worthy of God to be made the subject 
of a revelation from heaven, continued at intervals, 
through a period of four thousand years. It occupied 
the attention of patriarchs, kings, prophets, and minis- 
tering spirits. It was the dread of Satan, who in- 
spired his legions to oppose it. It is the object of 
wonder and adoring holy curiosity to the angels in 
heaven. And shall careless sinners be the only beings 
in the universe to be insensible to it ? Ought they not 
rather to feel, of all others, the most deep and intense 
interest in it ? You, who are placed here on a brief 
and uncertain probation,— who know that you must 
soon approach into the immediate presence of your 
Maker, to give up your account for transgressions 
without number ; for sins immense, and for iniquities 



224 PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

infinite, — have you no interest in him, who Las finished 
the transgression, made an end of sin, brought in ever- 
lasting righteousness, and made reconcihation for in- 
iquity ? Eternal love has been employed since the 
foundation of the world, in planning and executing this 
glorious scheme of redemption ; and yet you do not 
feel interest enough in it to inquire whether it may be 
rendered available for the salvation of your own soul. 
O what amazing guilt, to despise such infinite love ! 
Do you not, for your very indifference, deserve to be 
left to perish without the benefits of the salvation which 
you neglect and despise ? 

5. There is no salvation provided for those who 
reject Christ. The incorrigibly impenitent will not 
be cast off because the provisions of the gospel are 
not suflScient to save them, but because they will not 
avail themselves of those provisions. If you reject 
him, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin, — there 
is no other provision made, and you must perish, and 
justly perish. If you go down to hell, after having 
received such offers of mercy as these, there is not a 
being in the universe that will pity you, or extend to 
you the least degree of sympathy. Even the devils 
may reproach you for rejecting offers ivhich were 
never made to them. 

6. The kingdom of Christ will triumph over all 
opposition. The little stone that was cut out of the 
mountain without hands, has already become a great 
mountain. It is destined to extend and fill the whole 
earth. Blessed are they whose feet rest firmly on this 
stone, as a sure foundation. But wo unto him that 
stands in the way of its progress ; for '^ whosoever 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 225 

shall fall on this stone shall be broken : but on whom 
soever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder." 

7. We Jearn from what has been said respecting 
the piety of Jesus, the standard of piety that is set 
before his people. The apostle Peter says he has left 
us an example, that we should follow in his steps ; 
and John says, '' He that saith he abideth in him, 
ought himself also to walk, eveR as he walked." Now 
let us consider this, and see what it requires of us. 
In the first place, we must have the same general ob- 
ject in view which he had. And what was this ? He 
says it was his meat and drink to do the will of his 
Father. His will was absorbed in the Divine will. 
And when we speak of this, we mean his will as a 
man ; for he was a perfect man as well as perfect 
God ; and he had a perfect will ; but that will was in 
a state of perfect acquiescence in the will of God. 
To do the will of God was the highest purpose of his 
soul. And to imitate his example in this respect, is 
tlie very firsi principle of true piety. And how was 
this acted out ? In the first place, it was acted out in 
a zeal for the glory of God. His prayer, in the hour 
that he was troubled in spirit, was, ''Father, glorify 
thy name." And the first petition in his last prayer 
with his disciples was, " Father, — glorify thy Son, that 
thy Son may also glorify thce)'^ This was the great 
idea that engaged hi« great mind, — ^^the great emotion 
that filled his great heart. He felt for the honor of 
God and his law ; and therefore he came, as man's 
surety, to establish the authority of God's law, — to 
magnify and make it honorable. Here is a point on 
whicl), I fear, we have scarcely begun to feel in unison 



226 t>RACTlCAL REMARKS. 

with the spirit of our great Pattern. Our attention is 
directed to the condition of the impenitent ; but we 
have not, it appears to me, begun to feel the dishonor 
that is done to God, by those who live in rebellion 
against his government. We look around us, and see 
sinners slumbering over the flames of hell ; and we 
are stirred up somewhat in sympathy for them ; but 
have w^e considered the fact that they are God's ene- 
mies ? And has our zeal for his glory kindled up in 
our hearts a burning desire that they might return to 
their allegiance to him ? iVnd have we considered the 
fact, that this is an object of infinitely greater moment 
than their salvation ? It is of infinitely greater impor- 
tance that God should be obeyed, than that sinners 
should be saved. The eternal damnation of the whole 
human race would not be, in itself, so great an evil as 
that God should be disobeyed in a single instance ; 
for God's authority, — God's honor as a moral gover- 
nor, is of infinitely greater value than the honor, glory, 
or happiness of all created beings, forasmuch as he is 
infinitely greater than they all. And have w^e duly 
considered the dishonor which we bring upon God, 
when we backslide from him ? Do we feel an adequate 
sense of the guilt of backsliding from God, and giv- 
ing occasion for the enemies of God to blaspheme, — 
such as there would be, if we properly considered the 
example of Christ, of caring for the honor of God, as 
obligatory upon us ? If we properly considered this 
subject, I think we should be abased before God, ex- 
ceedingly below^ what we are. But, then, the pro- 
fessed followers of Christ, it seems to me, have not 
begun to come up to his spirit in sympathy for souls. 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 227 

He wept over sinners, — from mere compassion for 
them. But this was not all that he did for them. He 
led a life of toil and suffering, and endured a painful 
death to save their souls. And his example, in this 
very respect, is commended to us for our imitation. 
The apostle John says, '^ Hereby perceive we the 
love of God, because he laid down his life for us : 
and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." 
That is, — we should shrink from no pain or self-denial, 
even to the laying down of our lives, if need be, to 
save souls. How is it, Christian reader, with you ? 
Have you wept in compassion for sinners ? Have 
your souls been in agony for them, before the throne 
of grace, as his soul was in the garden of Gethsem- 
ane ? And have you shrunk back from no effort to 
save them, because of the self-denial it required ? And 
have you lived out the spirit of Christ ? Have you 
shown the same spirit of devotion, which led him 
so often to the mountain retreats for prayer ? Have 
you ever got so near to God as he habitually lived, so 
that you can often say in gratitude, with him, " Father, 
I thank thee that thou has heard me. And / know 
that thou hearest me alioays,'^^ Can you come to God 
in that spirit of loving, childlike confidence, intimate 
fellowship and nearness of communion, which breathe 
through his last prayer with his disciples, recorded in 
the seventeenth chapter of John ? It was the devout 
spirit of Christ, which gave his words such spirit and 
life. And if we would carry with us habitually the 
same spirit, our words would be '' sharp arrows of the 
Almighty, in the hearts of the king's enemies." Even 
the very expression of our countenances, — the heav 



228 PRACTICAL tlEMARK^. 

enly radiance that would beam through them, would 
carry conviction to the heart of the sinner, and be a 
stronger testimony to the truth of Christianity, than all 
the arguments that the most learned men have been 
able to produce. Moreover, we are not only to live 
out the spirit of Christ, as it respects his zeal for the 
glory of God, his compassion for sinners, and his de- 
votional habits, but in respect to the comparative esti- 
mate of temporal and eternal things. He was so con- 
stantly in communioii with invisible things, — his 
thoughts and feelings were so habitually upon things 
unseen and eternal, — and he saw so distinctly the 
glories of heaven and the pains of hell ; and so clearly 
perceived the unsatisfying natiT4re, and the comparative 
insignificance of temporal things, that this w^orld had 
no hold upon his affections. If the world could see 
us living so, they would believe there was a reality in 
religion. And if we would allure them to seek the 
pearl of great price, we must show, by our general 
conduct and spirit, that we possess that pearl our- 
selves, — that we have an object of pursuit infinitely 
above theirs. But if they see us driving as eagerly 
after the world as they do themselves ; as much en- 
grossed in its cares and pursuits ; and^as ready to 
drive a hard bargain as they ; how can we make them 
believe this ^ I commend to you, especially, the study 
of the spirit of Christ. Hold up before your minds, 
as a pattera, the spirit of his piety. And do not think 
it is too high to be imitated by us. Of course, I speak 
not of the degree of his piety, as though it were to be 
expected that any of his followers were to possess this 
spirit in the same degree that he did. But I speak 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 229 

of the kind ; and the word of God expressly declares 
that, if we have not this spirit, in some degree^ if we 
do not in some measure sympathize with him, in the 
objects which he pursued, in the emotions which he 
felt, and the spirit which he manifestetl, we cannot be 
his disciples. When we speak of the piety of Christ, 
we speak of him as a man ; and whatever he did, as 
a man^ fulfilling the relations of a man to his Creator, 
he did /or ow imitation. Let us then study the char- 
acter of his piety ^ as a character to be imitated ; and 
strive, as we behold the glory of God shining through 
it, to be changed into the same image, from glory to 
glory. 

8. Finally. Christ is presented in the subject we 
have been contemplating, as an object of love. There 
is one vievi^ of Christ which I think we are not suffi- 
ciently accustomed to contemplate. That is, his em- 
bodying the divine image in a perfect human form. 
When we attempt to contemplate God as an invisible 
Spirit, it is difficult for us to get any realizing appre- 
hension of his holy nature. But, then, all our ideas 
of human nature are formed from the acquaintance 
which we have had with it in its ruins. But when 
man was first created, he was one of the most lovely 
beings in the universe. He was fashioned after the 
image of God. He embodied that image in a human 
form. There are some remains of the fall, which ap- 
pear beautiful and lovely. Tha natural affections, 
sympathies, and sensibilities of human nature are of 
themselves lovely ; and if sanctified and made holy, 
every one of them would be so lovely as to call out 
towards them the affections of holy beings. Now we 
20 



230 PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

are to conterrplate Jesus Christ as a perfect man. 
The ruins of the fall are not seen in him. All the 
natural sensibiliiies, sympathies, and affections of hu- 
man nature appear in him, purified from every thing 
base, sensual, or selfish. Here is a man capable of 
disinterested love and friendship. Here is a man, 
keenly alive to every benevolent emotion, in whom no 
spot appears. When we look around upon our friends 
and acquaintances, we see many lovely persons ; but 
our contemplation of their characters is always dis- 
turbed ynih some defect,— some dark spot, — some 
shade, which intrudes in the way of the outgoings of 
our love. But fix now your eye on that friend you 
love the most ; and suppose all these dark shades ban- 
ished, — every imperfection removed, — benevolence 
glowing in every feature of his countenance, — love 
runn ng through all his actions, — selfishness entirely 
removed from his soul, — all his powers of mind per- 
fectly developed, — all the affections of his soul pure 
and heavenly ; and then, to this perfect man add the 
mysterious union of the Divine Nature, and this Be- 
ing acting out his benevolent sympathy in laying down 
his life for his enemies, and we have the Lord Jesus 
Christ, — the Son of God, — " God manifest in the 
flesh." And can we gaze upon such a character as 
this, without admiration and delight ? — without having 
our souls drawn out towards him in holy affection ? 
And will not this affection and delight rise into rapture, 
when we contemplate this Being as our Saviour } 
And shall we wonder that the dying saint, catching a 
glimpse of such a character, should be ravished with the 
sight, and call out in broken accents to others to be- 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 331 

hold the beauty of Christ ?* And though yet in the 
flesh, can we not get so near to him as to behold his 
beauty, and be ravished with the sight, and '' rejoice 
with joy unspeakable and full of glory ?" 

*Miss Caroline Richards, a lovely youth of fifteen, who 
died in Roxbury, Mass., a few months ago, having maintained a 
credible Christian profession for five years, when her speech was 
nearly gone, called to her mother, and said, in broken accents, 
'* Beauty y — beauty, — beauty ;" and, on being interrogated as to 
what she saw so beautiful, replied, <« CHRIST." 



232 TYPES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Fourth Pillar, continued. — Types of the Old 
Testament, 

Romans xv, 4, 

** Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our 
learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the Scrip- 
tures, might have hope." 

Some are disposed to undervalue the Old Testa- 
ment. They say Christ canie to introduce a new law 
or new covenant ; and that therefore he has abrogated 
jhe old. But Christ teaches no such thing. On the 
contrary, he says he came not to destroy the law or the 
prophets, but to fulfil ; and that not one jot or one tittle 
shall pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.^ The only 
part of the Old Testament which is done away in 
Christ, is the ceremonial observances, which have 
their accomplishment in him. The substance having 
come, we have no longer any need of the shadow. 
Yet the record of these shadows, according to the 
declaration of the apostle in the text, was written for 
our instruction ; and if it was written for our instruc- 
tion, it is our duty to study it, that we may understand 



TYPES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 233 

what is the voice of God, which speaks to us through 
these representations of things fulfilled in Christ. It 
is easy for the spiritual mind to perceive why God has 
given us a record of the manner in which Christ and 
his gospel were represented to the ancient saints. 
These representations furnish most striking illustra- 
tions of the object of Christ's work, and of the nature 
of the plan of salvation revealed in the gospel. It is 
with this view that I enter upon the consideration of 
the Types of the Old Testament dispensation. And 
if those who are desirous of knowing the way of sal- 
vation, will give diligent heed to the instruction con- 
tained in these types, they will see the glory of Christ's 
gospel, and its perfect adaptedness to their wants. 

A Type is a representation of some person, thing, 
or event, (which, at the time it is given, is yet to 
come,) by some other person, thing, or event, which 
bears a resemblance to it. But in order to constitute 
a type^ it is not only necessary that there should be in 
it a resemblance to the thing typified, but that it should 
have been designed to represent it. The old writers, 
by overlooking this, may have given way to some 
fanciful interpretations ; yet it appears to me that 
modern commentators have gone to a contrary ex- 
treme, in maintaining that nothing is to be considered 
as typical, except where there is an express declara- 
tion of its typical character in Scripture. Where 
such declarations occur they are incidental, and with 
no special design to teach this particular thing ; and 
how do we know that there may not be many other 
types, to which no such incidental allusion has been 
20* 



234 TYPES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 

made, — are we to suppose that God has given instruc- 
tion in the form of types, which he never intended 
should be available to his people in any age ? More- 
over, these allusions are mostly hi the New Testa- 
ment ; and are we to suppose that all the instruction 
given in these types was designedly sealed up from 
the very persons to whom they were of old especially 
given ? Many of these allusions, also, are explained 
by modern commentators as mere illustrations or ac- 
commodations. But I cannot forbear the remark, in 
this place, that if some of the old WTiters fell into a 
fanciful mode of interpreting the Scriptures, some of 
our modern expositors have fallen into a Germanizing 
mode, certainly no less disastrous to the cause of 
truth. They use an infidel's pruning-hook upon the 
tree of life. It need not be a matter of wonder, then, 
if they should cut off some of its branches, on whose 
luscious fruits the saints of old used to regale them- 
selves with fond delight. I have, however, confined 
myself chiefly, in the following pages, to those types, 
the typical character of which is taught in Scripture. 
I have not attempted to consider all the types, but 
only a specimen of such as are most easily understood, 
and most strikingly illustrative of the way of salvation. 
It therefore seemed to suit my purpose better to make 
the selection chiefly from those concerning the typical 
character of which there is no dispute. My object is 
three-fold : — (1.) To awaken attention to this most in- 
teresting branch of divine revelation, by presenting a 
specimen of the instruction to be obtained from it ; 
(2.) To illustrate the way of salvation, and show the 
agreement between the Messiah revealed in the New 



TYPES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 335 

Testament, with the typical^ as well as prophetic rep- 
resentations concerning him, in the Old ; and (4.) To 
show, in the fulfilment of these types, the inspiration 
of the Scriptures ; on which I shall remark more in 
full at the close. In the comparison of a type with its 
antitype^ or the object represented by it^ it is impor- 
tant to bear in mind that a type always falls short of 
its antitype. This must always be the case, w4ien an 
infinite object is represented ; because it must be 
shadowed forth by finite things. 

With these preliminary remarks, I proceed to con- 
sider some of the types of the Old Testament, by 
which the way of salvation was shadowed forth to the 
ancient saints : — 

I. The first type of Christ was the first man^ 
Adam. That Adam was a type of Christ, we learn 
from the declaration of Paul, in the fifth chapter of 
Romans ; where he calls him the '' figure of him that 
was to come." The typical resemblances between 
Adam and Christ are three. 

1. Dominion, Adam was created with dominion 
over all things in this world. All things on earth 
were put under him. He was made a little lower 
than the angels, yet crowned with glory and honor 
above all the creatures upon earth. So Christ, in his 
incarnation and humiliation, was made a little lower 
than the angels, yet crowned with glory and honor, 
and all things in the mediatorial kingdom put in sub- 
jection under him. 

2. Adam is the natural head of his race, and 
Christ is the spiritual head of the church. Paul says 



236 TYPES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 

God gave him to be head over all things to the church ; 
and represents him as bearing the same relation to the 
church which the head does to the body. 

3. There is another resemblance, which divines 
call representation. The old covenant of works, ihey 
say, which was made with Adam, was made with him 
as the representative of his race. This covenant was 
the continuance, in a state of holiness and felicity, on 
condition of perfect obedience ; with the threatening 
of death for disobedience. And in this covenant 
Adam was put upon trial, not for himself only, but in 
a certain sense for his posterity also. By his fall, 
he involved them all in the consequences of his own 
transgression. So also Christ, in his mediatorial 
character, stands in the new covenant, which is the 
covenant of grace, in the same relation to his people 
which Adam stood to his posterity. The covenant of 
grace was made with Christ, as the head, representa- 
tive, or surety of his people. He has undertaken for 
them, and in their behalf, to do for them what Adam^ 
failed to do, — to hve a life of perfect obedience ; and 
not this only, but to repair the breach which has been 
made in the first covenant, by sin. He was made a 
little lower than the angels, that he might taste death 
for every man. This representative character of 
Adam and Christ, is explicitly declared in the fifth 
chapter of Romans, and in the fifteenth chapter of first 
Corinthians :— '' As by one man sin entered the 
world, and death by sia ; and so death passed upon 
all men, for that all have sinned." ^' Death reigned 
from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not 
sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, 



TYPES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 237 

who is the figure of him that was to come." '^ Through 
the offence of one many be dead ; much more, the 
grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one 
man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many." '' By 
the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to 
condemnation ; even so, by the righteousness of one, 
the free gift came upon all men unto justification of 
life. For as by one man's disobedience many were 
made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be 
made righteous." " As in Adam all die, so in Christ 
shall all be made alive." These passages are suffi- 
cient to show that there was a sense in which Adam 
stood on trial for his natural seed, and Christ for his 
spiritual seed. And here is the idea of suretyship, or 
the substitution of one for another, in the eye of God's 
law, on which rests the whole scheme of the atone- 
ment. 

II. The second typical representation of Christ is 
found in the worship of God, through the medium of 
bloody sacrifices. The apostle Paul, in his epistle to 
the Hebrews, discusses this subject at length, and 
shows that these sacrifices were designed as a typical 
representation of the great sacrifice which Christ made, 
once for all, when he offerered up his own body upon 
the cross. And he explains the reason why bloody 
sacrifices were appointed, — because, ''without shed- 
ding of blood there is no remission ;" and the reason 
of this is, that the penalty of transgression was death ; 
and no expiation could be made for sin without the 
death of the victim offered, and this required the 
shedding of blood, because the life w^as in the blood. 



238 TYPES OF ^FHE OLD ITESTAMENT. 

Yet these victims could avail nothing for the forgive- 
ness of sin, except as they pointed forward to the 
great sacrifice which the Saviour was to make. 

The first account which we have of these sacrifices 
is, thfe offerings of Cain and Abel. But it is fair to 
infer, that this act of theirs was not performed merely 
at the instigation of their own minds ; especially as it 
agrees with the worship which was afterwards formally 
instituted, and declared to be typical of the promised 
Saviour. It is evident, then, that a revelation must 
have been made to our first parents, immediately after 
the fall, informing them of this medium of renewing 
the communion with God, which they lost in the fall. 
And this is corroborated by the fact, that God made 
them clothing of the skins of beasts. They had not 
yet received the grant of animal food, which was not 
given till after the flood ; and it is not probable that 
permission would have been given them to kill animals 
merely for the sake of their skins. It is, tlierefore, an 
easy and fair inference, that these were the skins of 
beasts slain in sacrifice. There is also another point 
of deep interest in regard to this. I cannot w^holly 
divest myself of the idea that there was a typical mean- 
ing in this very matter of clothing ; though there does 
not seem to be sufficient authority for declaring this 
positively. But we may use it as an illustration ; and 
as such it is very striking. The first effect of the 
transgression was a conviction of sin, manifested by a 
sense of shame. And their first effort to hide their 
shame, was made on the same principle that awakened 
sinners attempt to get clear of the curse of the law. 
It was by their own works,- — they sewed or platted 



TYPES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 239 

fig leaves together, and attempted to cover themselves 
with them, — an apt and striking illustration of the mis- 
erable garments of self-righteousness, in which con- 
victed sinners attempt to hide their naked exposure 
to God's wrath. But God made them coats of skins ; 
and so he has furnished for those who will receive it, 
a garment that will perfectly cover and hide them from 
his wrath. 

We find here, also, an explanation of the difference 
between the sacrifices of Cain and of Abel. Paul 
says, " By faith Abel offered a more excellent sacri- 
fice than Cain." But how was it by failh ? Evidently 
that he believed in the promised Saviour, — he felt his 
need of something to atone for his sins ; and therefore 
he brought the bloody sacrifice^ which had been insti- 
tuted by God as a type to point forward to the great 
sacrifice. But Cain was self-righteous. He did not 
feel his need of a Saviour. He thought, as many do 
now, that be could come before God in his own 
name, without the intervention of a Mediator, and be 
accepted. And so he brought an offering of the fruits 
of the earth, — a sacrifice without blood, — a mere 
thank-offering. But he was disappointed, God did 
not accept his offering. 

Nothing is more plainly taught in the Scriptures, 
than that the bloody sacrifices of the Old Testa- 
ment were designed to represent the great atoning 
sacrifice of Christ. It is in allusion to this that 
Isaiah says, '' He shall make his soul an offering for 
sin." Paul, likewise, in allusion to the same thing, 
says in his episde to the Hebrews, '' Almost all things 
«re by the law purged with blood ; and without shed- 



240 TYPES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 

ding of blood there is no remission. It was, there- 
fore, necessary that the pattern of things in the heavens 
should be purified with these ; but the heavenly things 
themselves, with better sacrifices than these. For 
Christ is not entered into the holy places made with 
hands, which are figures of the true ; but into heaven 
itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us ; 
nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high 
priest entereth into the holy place every year with the 
blood of others ; for then must he often have suffered 
since the foundation of the world : but now once in 
the end of the world hath he appeared, to put away 
sin by the sacrifice of himself. Christ was once offered 
to bear the sins of many." This is illustrated in the 
most striking manner, by the services of the day of 
atonement. This was a solemn service, which oc- 
curred once a year. On that day there were two vic- 
tims selected, one for a sin-offering and the other for 
a scapegoat. The first was slain, and his blood sprink- 
led within the vail, by the priest, to make atonement for 
himself and the people. Then the sins of the people 
were, in a formal manner, laid over upon the head of 
the live goat. The priest laid his hands upon the goat's 
head, and confessed over him all the iniquities of the 
people, and put them upon the head of the goat ; which 
was sent away, to bear upon him all their iniquities unto 
a land not inhabited. This represents Christ bearing 
our sins ; and to this, doubtless, Peter alludes, when 
he says, '' He bare our sins in his own body on the 
tree." Then the body of the goat that had been 
slain, and also of a bullock, which had been previously 
offered in a similar manner for a sin-offering, were 



TYPES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 241 

both burned outside of the camp. So the apostle 
tells us Jesus suffered without the €amp. The offer- 
ing of incense represents the intercession of Christ 
before God ; and the sprinkling of the blood at the 
time of incense, shows that it was in consequence of 
his having shed his blood for us, that he is enabled to 
intercede for us effectually, now that he sits on the 
right hand of God, who is seated on a mercy-seat, — 
all this being represented, as the apostle tells us, by the 
'^ Holy places made with hands, which are the figures 
of the true." 

The same thing was represented, in a very touching 
manner, by the sacrifice of Abraham. Isaac was the 
child of promise ; and as such, a type of Christ, as 
we learn from the third chapter of Galatians, where 
Paul declares that the Seed^ to whom God referred in 
his promises to Abraham, was Christ ; and Christ is 
typified in this very thing, — Isaac, being the child of 
promise, and born out of the usual course of nature, 
as Christ was. Abraham's freely offering up his son, 
at the command of God, notwithstanding his strong 
affection for him, as the child of promise, seems to be 
a representation of that wonderful act of God, in giv- 
ing his only -begotten and well-beloved Son to <lie for 
us, — offering him up freely for our sakes ; and the 
passive submission of Isaac, represents the conduct of 
Christ, in offering up himself voluntarily, as a sacrifice 
for our sins. The resurrection of Christ, also, is pre- 
figured by the deliverance of Isaac from death, as we 
learn by the apostle, who says that Abraham received 
Isaac from the dead in a figure. There is a striking 
coincidence, also, in the place of this offering, and the 
21 



242 TYPES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 

manner in which the victims went to it. It was 
Mount Moriah on which Isaac was offered. It was 
Mount Moriah on which the temple stood, near which 
Christ was crucified. Isaac went up to the place, 
bearing the wood for the burnt-offering ; and Christ 
went to the place bearing the wood of the cross. But 
at the close of the scene the figure is changed ; and 
Isaac, who was doomed to die, is made to represent the 
sinner condemned to death, while the ram represents 
Christ ; and as Isaac was saved from death, by hav- 
ing the ram substituted in his place, so believers are 
saved from the death to which they are doomed for 
their sins, by having the sufferings and death of Christ 
substituted for theirs. 

III. I shall notice but one more of the types in 
this chapter ; and that is J^oah^s Ark. We learn the 
typical character of this, from the apostle Peter, who 
says, '^ Christ hath once suffered for sins, the just for 
the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put 
to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit : by 
which also he went and preached unto the spirits in 
prison ; which sometime were disobedient, when once 
the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, 
while the Ark was preparing, wherein few, that is, 
eight souls, were saved by water, the like figure 
whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not 
the putting away the filth of the flesh, but the answer 
of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrec- 
tion of Jesus Christ." This does not mean that 
Jesus went into hell, and preached to the spirts that 
were confined in prison there ; but that while the Ark 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 243 

was preparing, he preached by Noah to the spirits that 
were in prison at the time Peter wrote his epistle. 
And baptism is here put for the thing signified by it, — 
being really and truly baptized into Christ. Let us, 
then, look at the resemblances. A flood of water 
was coming, to drown the whole world. The Ark 
was prepared, as a place of security for all who en- 
tered it. But there is a more dreadful storm ap- 
proaching, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed 
from heaven, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them 
that know not God. But Christ will be an Ark of 
Safety to all who are in him ; and as the Lord shut 
Noah in, and secured him from the storm and the 
flood, so he will keep by his mighty power unto sal- 
vation, all who enter into the true Ark. It is proba- 
ble, also, that the flood was intended as a type of the 
last day, when this world shall be on fire, and the ele- 
ments shall melt with fervent heat, and the world, and 
all that is therein, shall be burnt up. Then there will 
be a mighty and overwhelming destruction to all, ex- 
cept those who have taken refuge in Christ, the Ark 
of Safety. 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

I. We learn from this subject the great principle 
on which the whole scheme of the gospel is founded. 
It is that of representation, suretyship, substitution. 
Christ, as the surety, representative, or head of his 
people, has undertaken to accomplish all that is neces- 
sary to secure their complete, perfect, and final salva- 



244 PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

tion. He stands responsible for them, to the justice 
of God. Does that justice claim their everlasting de- 
struction ? He has bared his own bosom to the stern 
requirements of justice ; and by the union of the divine 
nature vi^ith the human, he has given a sufficient value 
to his sufferings to atone for the sins of the whole world. 
Does the law still demand perfect obedience ? That 
obedience he rendered in the days of his flesh, his 
divinity also giving it an infinite value, so that by vir- 
tue of their union with him, all his people have the 
benefits of a perfect righteousness. Nor is this all. 
He has not only satisfied the demands of law and jus- 
tice for his people ; but he has provided for their com- 
plete redemption from the power of sin and Satan^ 
and their eternal glorification. He has led captivity 
captive ; he has conquered the great Adversary, and 
swallowed up death in victory. And their union with 
him entitles them to share with him, in the inheritance 
of all things. He, being the Eternal Son of God, is 
heir of all things ; hence he says, '' All things which 
the Father hath are mine :" and Paul says that those 
who have received the spirit of adoption are joint heirs 
with Christ. In view of the same truth,- — our union 
with Christ, our spiritual head, — he says^in another 
place, ''all things are your's, and ye are Christ's, 
and Christ is God's." 

What could be presented to the mind of an inquirer, 
bowed down under a sense of guilt, more exactly 
suited to his case ? Do you feel the wrath of God 
abiding on you ? Trust yourself in the hands of your 
great Surety, who will stand up in your place, and be 
responsible for you. He will stand between you and 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 245 

the wrath of God — the demands of eternal justice — 
and it will have no force upon you, because it has 
spent itself upon him. His hands, his feet, his tem- 
ples, and his side, testify that he has paid the debt. 
But, do you still feel that the law has claims upon 
you for positive obedience — for a perfect righteous- 
ness, as well as for satisfaction for your disobedience ? 
He stands up as your representative. His righteous- 
ness is perfect and complete. And your union with 
him, if you come to him, entitles you to all the bene- 
fits of his perfect righteousness. He stands in your 
place. He has entered into a covenant of grace with 
the Father, from eternity, to have, by virtue of his 
own obedience and sufferings, all who come to him. 
What more can you want ? Only believe. But there 
is the difficulty, — you will not believe. Notwithstand- 
ing all the assurances he has given, you will not be- 
lieve. You will not take him for a whole Saviour, but 
must needs insist on having some righteousness of your 
own wherein to trust, in addition to his. You are go- 
ing about to establish your own righteousness, — sew- 
ing together your wretched figleaf aprons, which can 
never hide your naked soul from the wrath of God. 
You must have a better covering, — one provided by 
God himself, 

2. We learn from this subject the true idea of 
atonement. From all the bloody sacrifices of the 
Old Testament, it appears that the great idea of ex- 
piation or atonement for sin, is in the death of a sub- 
stituted victim^ — a victim substituted in the place of the 
sinner. And that nothing short of death is sufficient, 
is evident from the declaration that, '^ without shed- 
21* 



246 PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

ding of blood there is no remission." But the victim 
must be of sufficient value to take the place of the 
sinner ; and this is true of ihe great offering in which 
all others centre. We have here also an illustration 
of the act of faith by which the sinner becomes per- 
sonally interested in the great atonement. The priest, 
in behalf of the people, laid his hands upon the head 
of the scapegoat, and confessed over it the sins of the 
people, and by an act of faith in the word of God, 
which appointed this observance, transferred the sins 
of the people to the head of the victim. So we are 
to confess our sins before God, and by an act of faith, 
behold them transferred to the head of the great vic- 
tim, on whom the Lord hath laid the iniquity of us all. 
By which, however, we are not to understand that the 
moral turpitude of the believer's sins is transferred to 
Christ ; but only that they are transferred to him in 
the same sense that a debt is transferred to the surety, 
— he becomes responsible to God for them, and re- 
lieves us of the curse of the law, which otherwise 
would rest upon us in consequence of our transgres- 
sion. 

3. We learn from this subject that there can be 
no acceptable worship, except such as is presented 
in the name of Christ, in view of the great atonement 
which he has made for sin. Cain offered to the Lord 
similar worship to that offered by all disbelievers in 
the atonement of Christ. He felt no need of expia- 
tion for sin ; and he treated the idea of atonement 
with the same contempt with which it is now treated 
in many congregations of professed worshippers. Cain 
was not an avowed infidel. He beheved in worship- 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 247 

ping God. But he was self-righteous. He had no 
sense of sin, and felt no need of an atonement. But 
Abel was a believer in the atonement. He presented 
a bloody offering. His offering was accepted, while 
Cain's was rejected. These two men represent the 
two great classes into which mankind have always been 
divided,— believers and unbelievers. As Cain perse- 
cuted Abel, so have his seed always persecuted the 
seed of Abel. Even among us, those self-righteous 
moralists, who feel no need of being saved from their 
sins, will vex and harass the true believer, with ridi- 
cule and opposition, even while the profession of ex- 
treme liberality is on his lips-. This is liberal Chris- 
tianity^ — and it is the same kind of liberality which 
Cain exercised towards Abel, — a liberality of hatred, 
on account of the truths believed and professed by the 
true children of God. 

4. The example of Abraham exhibits a practical 
exhibition of what is meant by forsaking all for Christ. 
This is the term of discipleship. "• Whosover he be 
of you," says the Saviour, ^' thatforsaketh not all that 
be hath, cannot be my disciple." The meaning of 
this, as illustrated in the conduct of Abraham, is, that 
we must make such an entire consecration of every 
thing to Christ and to God, that we shall be ready, 
with the same promptness, to give it up at his call. 
Isaac was very dear to Abraham. He was the con- 
summation of all his hopes, for which he had been, 
for more than twenty years, a wanderer in a strange 
land. He had many severe trials of his faith before; 
but now God called for his beloved Isaac. And did he 
hesitate ? Not a moment. He went deliberately to 



248 PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

work to obey this command, as though it were a long- 
settled point with him, that whatever the Lord should 
order must be acquiesced in as a matter of course. 
How is it. Christian reader ? Have you no beloved 
Isaac, which you are withholding from God, or per- 
mitting to come between him and your affections ? 
God may find it necessary to call upon you to sacri- 
fice your Isaac ; yet if you freely give him up to God, 
he may permit you still to enjoy him, as he did Abra- 
ham. He may give him to you, as life from the 
dead. But has he come to any of you, and taken 
away your Isaac ? Remember that the trial of your 
faith, being much more precious than of gold that per- 
isheth, may thereby be found unto praise, and honor, 
and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ. 

5. This subject gives us an exhibition of the love 
of Godj which is adapted to melt and subdue our hearts.^ 
Who can describe or imagine the emotions of Abra- 
ham's bosom, when God said to him, ''Take now thy 
son, thine onZi/ son Isaac, and get thee into the land of 
Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt-offering !" 
Yet Jesus Christ was God's only-begotten and well- 
beloved Son ; and he freely offered him up for us ; 
and that while we were yet sinners, — ^yes, ^God com- 
mendeth his love to us, in that while we were yet sin- 
ners, Christ died for us !" O how should this affect 
our hearts ; and how deeply ungrateful are they, who 
will neither be moved by this love, nor accept of 
Jesus Christ as their Saviour ! With what infinite ab- 
horrence must God look upon those who neglect, 
slight, or despise such a manifestation of his love ! 
Yet every impenitent sinner does thus slight, or neg- 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 249 

lect, or despise this infinite love of God. Yes, even 
those that are partially awakened, will not suffer their 
hearts to be melted and subdued with this love. Yet 
they complain that they cannot feel that they are sin- 
ners. Some of them make the most frivolous ex- 
cuses imaginable for slighting eternal love. Some 
think if such and such a companion would love God, 
they would love him too. But this is setting up their 
friendship with a mortal worm above the friendship of 
the infinite God ! j^Others are afraid of being ridiculed 
by their companions, if they come out and make a 
suitable return for such infinite love. But it is better 
to bear the ridicule and scorn of a wicked companion, 
than to be an object of scorn and derision of the whole 
universe in the day of judgment : for of them that are 
ashamed of Christ now, he will be ashamed then ; 
and God will laugh at their calamity, and mock when 
their fear cometh. In that day his offers of mercy 
will be clean gone forever, and in his anger he will 
shut up his tender mercies forever. 

6. Finally, this subject furnishes occasion for ex- 
hortation to sinners to flee to the Ark of Safety. 
The long-suffering of God is waiting for you, impeni- 
tent reader, as it waited for the old world in the days 
of Noah. Now God is waiting to be gracious. He 
bids you flee to Christ, the true Ark, before the storm 
of wrath approaches, which is to overwhelm you in 
despair and eternal destruction. If you take refuge 
in him, you will be secure in the day of God's awful 
visitation. To you it may be very near. You will 
soon have to pass through the deep waters of death. 
But if Christ is your Ark, you will pass over in safety. 



250 PRACTICAL REMARKS; 

Soon, also, '4he Lord will come with fire, an J with 
Ms chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with 
fury, and his rebukes with flames of fire." But if you 
are in Christ, the true Ark, when you pass through 
the waters, he will be with you ; and through the 
rivers, they shall not overflow you ; when you pass 
through the fire, you shall not be burnt ; neither shall 
the flame kindle upon you ; for the Lord your Gody, 
the Holy One of Israel, shall be your SaviouTo. 



TYPES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 251 



CHAPTER VII. 

Fourth Pillar, concluded. — Types of the Old 
Testament^ continued, 

IV. The next type which I shall consider is 
Melchizedek. The fact of the typical character of 
Melchizedek is explicitly declared by Paul, in his 
episde to the Hebrews. Who Melchizedek was is 
not certain. Commentators have advanced various 
opinions on the subject ; but the most probable one 
is, that he was a pious king, of one of the tribes of the 
Canaanites. This is the conclusion to which any one 
would naturally come, by reading the account given 
of him in Genesis. Yet, as a type of Christ, he was . 
greater than Abraham, for Abraham paid him tithes ; 
and it is probable that God had revealed to him Mel- 
chizedek's typical character, so that these tithes were 
paid to him, with faith in his great Antitype. The 
resemblances between Melchizedek and Christ are, 
that they both united in themselves the offices of 
priest and king ; Melchizedek was king of Salem, 
which is King of Peace, and Christ is the Prince of 
Peace, because it is through him alone that peace is 
proclaimed on earth, — in him righteousness and peace 
meet together ; they both hold their priesthood by the 



252 TYPES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 

same tenure, receiving it not from hereditary descent, 
as the sons of Aaron did, so that, in this respect they 
were without father and mother, — both received their 
priestly ofBce directly from God, and it was not to 
descend to their posterity, but to remain in them- 
selves, unchangeable and perpetual. This contra- 
dicts the Popish idea of the descent of Christ's priest- 
hood to his ministers, and represents him as still ex- 
ercising the priest's offic^ before Godj making inter- 
cession for his people. It is, therefore, profane for 
any man to call himself, or permit himself to be called, 
a priest. We have no priest but Christ. His min- 
isters are only his servants, ambassadors whom he has 
sent out to invite people to the gospel feast. 

V. The next type we notice is, the two sons of 
Abraham, representing, in allegory, or type, the chil- 
dren of the two covenants. The covenant of works, 
made first with Adam, and given in full on Mount 
Sinai, is represented by Hagar, who was a bond- 
. woman, and whose children were born into bondage. 
It is to be observed, that Hagar is the Arabic name 
for Mount Sinai, The Jews, though children of 
Abraham after the flesh, were yet in bandage to the 
law, which was given upon Mount Sinai. They 
sought justification by the law ; but it only brought 
them into bondage ; for they could have no justifica- 
tion by it, unless they fulfilled it perfectly. This ap- 
plies equally to those who now seek justification by 
their own works. All who are in a natural state are 
born after the flesh, as Ishmael was ; and they are in 
bondage to the law, and under its wrath and curse, 



TYPES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, 253 

because they have not kept it ; and if they continue in 
this state, they will be finally cast out, as Ishmael was. 
But the covenant of grace is represented by Sarah, 
who was a free woman, and whose children, therefore, 
were born free. Her son, Isaac, was not born after 
the flesh, but by promise, out of the ordinary course of 
nature. So the true children of Abraham, under the 
covenant of grace, are '^ born not of blood, nor of the 
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.''^ 
And by virtue of this new and heavenly birth, they 
are the children of Abraham, and heirs according to 
the promise ; and they are delivered from the curse 
'of the law, through tho covenant of grace, whereby 
Christ has redeemed them from the curse of the law, 
being made a curse for them, 

VL Moses ivas a type of Christ. The Lord said 
unto Moses, concerning the children of Israel, ''I 
will raise them up a prophet, from among their breth- 
ren, like unto thee, and will put my words into his 
mouth ; and he shall speak unto them all the words 
that I shall command him," This, Stephen applies 
to Christ, in his address before the Sanhedrim, at the 
time of his martyrdom ; and no other prophet has 
ever appeared, ^' like unto Moses, to whom the Lore} 
spake face to face," excepting Jesus Christ, The 
typical resemblances between Moses and Christ are 
these : — They were both saved in infancy, from the 
persecution of cruel kings ; they were both, in early 
life, before the commencement of their ministry, em- 
ployed in secular and laborious pursuits ; they both 
rejected the temptation to worldly greatness, to do the 
22 



254 TYPES OF THE OLD TESTAIVIENT. 

will of God ; they resembled each other in character, 
both being meek and faithful ; Moses delivered the 
children of Israel from Egyptian bondage, as Christ 
delivers his people from the bondage of sin and Satan ; 
they were both maltreated and rejected by their own 
people, whom they came to save ; they both united 
in one person the offices of prophet, priest, and law- 
giver ; the Lord spake to them both with an audible 
voice, and face to face ; they were both transfigured : 
Moses, when his face shone as the face of an angel, 
and Jesus, while at prayer on the Mount of transfigur- 
ation, '' when the fashion of his countenance was alter- 
ed, and his raiment was white and glistering ;" and 
they both exercised the office of Mediator between 
God and man. Moses stood between the people as 
the medium of communication between them and God, 

as Christ does now. 
f 

VII. The vail which Moses put over his face, 
when he spoke to the people, after going into the tab- 
ernacle before God, Paul informs us, represented the 
comparative obscurity of the Old Testament dispensa- 
tion. The people could not look steadfastly in Moses' 
face, because it shone, as it were, the face^of an angel. 
This vail, the apostle said, still remained upon the 
hearts of the Jew^s, when the law was read : for they 
could not steadfastly look to the end of that which was 
abolished. But this vail, he says, is done away in 
Christ. We can look upon him as our Mediator, 
without being dazzled with the brightness of his coun- 
tenance ; and in him all obscurity is taken away from 
the method of salvation. 



TYPES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 255 

VIII. The redemption of the children of Israel 
out of Egypt, and their whole journey through the 
wilderness, appear to be typical of Christ's redemp- 
tion of his people from the bondage of sin and Satan, 
and of the Christian life ; while the land of Canaan, 
with the entrance of the children of Israel into it, was 
typical of heaven, and the final entrance of the people of 
God into that blessed abode. This will appear from the 
following considerations : — (1.) The passover was evi- 
dently typical of the application of the blood of redemp- 
tion to believers. Paul expressly declares this ; and 
It most evidently had its accomplishment in Christ ; and 
this was the last of the means used to deliver them from 
bondage, as application to the blood of Christ is the 
last means by which the sinner is brought out of bon- 
dage. (2.) Paul declares that the passage of the Red 
Sea, under the cloud, was typical of baptism, which 
is the door into the Christian church, and entered near 
the commencement of the Christian race. Their pil- 
grimage through the desert must, therefore, represent 
the Christian pilgrimage through this world, which, in 
regard to spiritual things, very much resembles that 
desert land through which they passed. (3.) Paul 
declares expressly that certain things which happened 
to them, in their progress through the wilderness, hap- 
pened to them for examples or types ; he also de- 
clares that the manna and the miraculous supply of 
water in the wilderness, represented the spiritual meat 
which Christ has provided for his people ; and Christ 
himself asserts the same thing in his discourse to the 
Jews, recorded by the evangelist John. So that it is 
a fair inference, that this journey was intended to rep- 



256 TYPES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 

resent the Christian life. And it is clear from whal 
Paul says, in the fourth and eleventh chapters of He- 
brews, that Canaan was a type of heaven. He rep- 
resents some as having failed of that rest, as typical 
of others that will fail of entering the heavenly rest. 
He also represents the patriarchs, while sojourning in 
the land of promise, as seeking a better country, that 
is, an heavenly. The same thing, also, is to be in- 
ferred from the fact, that Canaan, like the heavenly 
rest, is a land of promise. And if the deliverance of 
the children of Israel from Egypt, and their journey 
through the wilderness, are typical of the commence- 
ment and progress of the Christian life, then all the 
events connected with tliem must be typical of things 
connected with Christian experience. All the cere- 
monial law, also, which was given during the journey 
through the wilderness, was typical of Christ and the 
gospeL They were, the apostle says, " shadows of 
good things to come.'' This gives the narrative of 
these events a double interest to the minds of Chris- 
tians. But it is necessary to guard against carrying 
these typical resemblances too far ; for a type never 
comes fully up to the antitype, and there are generally 
some parts of it which do not apply at alfto the thing 
signified by it. Moreover there is often more than 
one thing signified by the same type, so that some 
things necessary to carry out the one, will not apply 
to the other. Here is evidently not only a type of 
the redemption of individual Christians, with their per- 
sonal experience ; but also of the church of God, 
taken collectively, all under one and the same figure^ 
This mingling of figures is very common in the Scrip- 



TYPES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 257 

tures, with reference to this very thing. Thus the 
kingdom of God is a figure, which Christ and the 
apostles apply often in the same expression, to repre- 
sent both the church at large and the kingdom which 
Christ sets up in the heart of the believer. 

IX. David was a type of Christ. This we learn 
by the application of the sixteenth Psalm to Christ, 
by Peter on the day of Pentecost ; together with the 
similar application of other passages in the Psalms to 
Christ, where David was speaking in the first person. 
I have not space here to trace the resemblances be- 
tween David and Christ ; and refer to it only for the 
purpose of saying that it explains many things in the 
Psalms, where David speaks in the first person, which 
could not apply to himself. This is important to be 
borne in mind in reading the Psalms. It relieves all 
the difficulty felt by many on reading those Psalms in 
which David prays for the destruction of his enemies. 
These enemies are the enemies of the church ; and 
their destruction, for the salvation of the church, was 
a laudable object of desire. 

X. The burial and resurrection of Christ, accord- 
ing to his own testimony, was typified in the prophet 
Jonah. 

XI. We have reason to believe that the polluting 
effects of sin were typified by the loathsome disease 
of leprosy. This disease polluted and corrupted the 
whole body, even while the person lived ; and it 
seems to be referred to in Isaiah's description of the 

22* 



258 PRACrnCAL REMARKS. 

sins of the Jewish nation, which forcibly describes the 
state of the unregenerate heart ; '^ The whole head is 
sick, and the whole heart faint. From the soul of the 
foot, even unto the head, there is no soundness in it, 
but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores." The 
ceremony of cleansing the leper, also, is evidently de- 
signed as a type of the cleansing of the soal from both 
the pollution and guilt of sin by the blood of Christ. 
The priest took two birds, and killed one of them, 
and dipped the other in its blood, and let it go free. 
This represents the sinner set free from the sentence 
of death by the death of Christ. The priest, then, 
with a branch of hyssop, sprinkled the leper with the 
Wood, aifd pronounced him clean. This appears to 
represent baptism, which signifies the application of 
the blood of Christ by faith to the heart of the Chris- 
tian, producing inward purification ; as the apostle 
says, ^^ purifying our hearts by faith.'' This seems 
to be alluded to by David, when he says, " Purge 
me with hyssop and I shall be clean," &c., and by 
the apostle John, when he says,"^The blood of Jesus 
Christ cleanseth from all sin.'^ 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

1 . We learn from this subject why so many Chris- 
tians Hve in slavish fear, and are all their lifetime sub- 
ject to bondage ; and why the awakened sinner so 
frequently remains for a long time in a state of dis-^ 
tress, with protracted convictions, instead of coming. 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 259 

out into the liberty of the gospel. Oftentimes the 
Christian, when he has been betrayed into sin, — when 
he has felt or done wrong, seeks peace of conscience 
by resolving to reform. But this gives him no relief. 
This is going to Mount Sinai, which gendereth to 
bondage. It is seeking justification by the law. And 
all who seek justification by the law, are the children 
of the bondwoman. This does not relieve his con- 
science, and he goes on, burdened with guilt and 
trembling with fear, groping on in the dark, and going 
still farther from God. It is, doubtless, this servile 
spirit of bondage, which often leads young converts to 
backslide from God. But instead of this, we should 
go to Mount Sion, and behold the cross of Jesus 
Christ. There is no terror there. The cross speaks 
peace to the troubled soul. Here we find not the 
spirit of bondage, but the spirit of adoption, whereby 
we cry, '^ Abba, Father." So it is with the awak- 
ened sinner, — if he would go to Mount Sion, as soon 
as he beheld the cross his burden would fall off, and 
he would be delivered from the terrible bondage under 
which he groans. But he goes to Mount Sinai ; and 
that thunders terror in his ears. He goes about to 
amend his ways, — to do better, with the hope of pre- 
paring himself to be converted ; but all this only brings 
him still deeper into bondage. But if he would come 
at once to the cross, he might obtain immediate par- 
don and peace. No sinner was ever sent empty away 
from Mount Sion, where he had been to get a sight 
of the cross. Beware, aw^akened sinner. "What 
saith the Scripture ? Cast out the bondwoman and her 
son : for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir 



260 PRACTICAL RI:MARKS. 

with the son of the free woman." If you continue in 
this state you will be cast out like Ishniael. No one 
will enter the promised inheritance in this way. You 
must give up your self-righteousness, and seek adop- 
tion into the family of God as an heir of promise, 
through the grace of God in Christ, or you will cer- 
tainly be cast out. Nor will it be any advantage to 
you, in this case, that you have been baptized, and 
brought under the covenant. Ishmael was the natural 
son of Abraham, circumcised and brought under the 
covenant. Yet he was cast out. Here, also, is a 
solemn warning to mockers. * Ishmael, the son of the 
bondwoman, mocked Isaac, the child of promise ; 
and he was cast out of his father's house. So now, 
tire sons of bondage, who mock at the heirs of prom- 
ise, will be cast out of the house of our Heavenly 
Father, into outer darkness, where shall be wailing and 
gnashing of teeth. 

2. We learn from this subject that there is no sal- 
vation by Moses. He could lead the children of Israel 
only to Jordan. It required another person, — Joshua^ 
whose name signifies a Saviour ; and who seems to 
have been a type of the risen and triumphant Saviour, 
— it required him to introduce them into the promised 
land. So the law, which was given by Moses, can- 
not bring us to the heavenly Canaan, — it can do no 
more than to bring us to Christ. This shows why so 
many, who are awakened and convicted of sin, never 
come to any thing. They go no further than Moses 
leads them ; and with the unbelieving Israelites, they 
will fall in the wilderness. Moses is their leader, and 
be cannot carry them over Jordan. Convicted sin- 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 261 

ner ! you must leave Moses, and fly to Christ, or you 
are lost ! No matter how deep your conviction. The 
law can do nothing for you but to convict and con- 
demn. And no doubt multitudes are now in hell, who 
have been under deeper convictions than you. Take 
warning by the Israelites who fell in the wilderness, 
and flee to Christ. He, like Joshua, will give you 
rest. 

3. We learn from this subject the necessity of a 
Mediator between God and man. Moses was a type 
of Christ, in his character of Mediator. The people 
were taught the necessity of a Mediator, in an impres- 
sive manner, as they stood before Mount Sinai. They 
saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise 
of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking : and they 
removed and stood afar off. And they said unto 
Moses, speak thou with us, and we will hear ; but let 
not God speak with us, lest we die. And so terrible 
was the sight that even Moses said, I exceedingly fear 
and quake. They saw that they were sinners, and 
that they '' could not endure that which was com- 
manded," nor stand before a God of infinite holiness, 
who is a consuming fire to the wicked. But what VA-as 
the glory of Sinai, compared with the unveiled glories 
of the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings 
and Lord of lords, who only hath immortality, as it 
appears in that light which no man can approach unto ? 
And, if the children of Israel, God's chosen people, 
could not endure the glory of Sinai, which was but a 
figure of the glory that shall be revealed, without some 
one to stand between them and God, can you, O pre- 
sumptuous man, stand up in your own confidence, 



262 PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

before that throne from which the earth and heaven 
shall flee away ? A single ray of glory, from that 
burning throne, shining into your heart, would discov- 
er such hidden iniquity and vile pollution there, that 
you would call to the mountains and the rocks to fall 
on you, and hide you from the face of Him that sitteth 
upon the throne. However good or amiable you 
may appear to yourself now, you will then see your 
need of a days-man, to stand between you and God. 
Hear what God himself says to you : "Can thine 
heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the day 
that I shall deal with you ?" If you come up before 
God without a Mediator, God will deal with YOU ; 
but, if you go there in the name of Christ, with him 
as your Mediator, God will not deal with you, but 
with Christ ; who will take your place, and answer 
for you, as the advocate answers before the court for 
the criminal, or the surety for the debtor. 

4. We learn from this subject why it is so diffi- 
cult for impenitent sinners to understand the way of 
salvation. All impenitent persons are in a similar 
state to that of the unbelieving Jews, who rejected 
Christ. However much they may assent to the 
truths of Christianity, ihey do continue in-their hearts 
to reject the Saviour, and seek justification by the 
works of the law. Is it not so, impenitent reader ? 
Do you not feel in your heart, that, after all, you are 
about as good as the generality of Cliristians, and, 
therefore, you will stand as good a chance as they ? 
This might, perhaps, to some extent be true, as to 
outward conduct, if they relied upon this for salvation. 
But they have long since renounced all dependence 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 263 

upon their own works, and fled for refuge to Jesus 
Christ ; and now, their good works are performed 
with far different motives from yours. Now it is true 
of you, as it was of the unbelieving Jews, that this 
veil is upon your heart. Your minds are blinded. 
You perceive not the things of the Spirit, because 
your hearts are carnal, and they are spiritually dis- 
cerned. You are looking at the ministration of death, 
which was written and graven in stone ; and you can- 
not perceive the glory of the ministration of the Spirit. 
But that speaks nothing but condemnation and death ; 
while the ministration of the Spirit reveals life and 
peace, through faith in Jesus Christ ; which is infi- 
nitely more glorious than the ministration of death. 

5. We learn from this subject the condition of 
sinners. It is here represented in a figure, by the 
hard bondage of the Israelites. Sinners are repre- 
sented in the Bible as being under the power of Satan, 
carried captive by him at his will ; and as being the 
servants of sin, yielding themselves to its dominion. 
This is a hard service. The way of transgressors is 
hard. The yoke of Satan is a galling yoke ; and, 
like Egyptian bondage, it is growing worse and worse, 
the longer they continue in it. The demands of sin 
are greater and greater, while its promises of reward 
are all delusive, and continually receding, like the 
promises of liberty, which Pharaoh held out to his 
bondmen. Nor will Satan any more easily render up 
his dominion over sinners, than Pharoah did over his. 
Indeed, the whole history of the dealings of God with 
the children of Israel in Egypt, furnishes a striking 
illustration of the dealings of God with the awakened 



264 PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

sinner ; and their conduct, and that of Pharaoh, illus- 
trate the feelings of sinners under the awakenings of 
God's spirit, and the schemes of Satan, for retaining 
them in his service. When Moses and Aaron came 
to the people, and told them that God had come to 
deliver them from their bondage, they were glad, and 
bowed their heads and worshipped. But all this was 
selfish, — they had no regard to God in it, but only 
desired to be freed from bondage ; and so when Pha- 
raoh increased the rigor of their bondage, and they 
saw difficulties in their way, they began to be vexed, 
and to murmur against God, and to be angry with his 
servants. So it is with sinners. When first awak- 
ened, they think they are willing to serve God, and 
are pleased with the idea of having the consolations of 
religion, and of being saved. But as soon as Satan 
discovers that they are beginning to think of leaving 
his service, he rages and storms as Pharaoh did, and 
increases their burdens, — stirring up all the evil dis- 
positions and malevolent feelings of their hearts, so 
that they are overwhelmed with sore distress; and 
their hearts often rise in opposition to God, and to 
those who have been instrumental of awakening them. 
But when the power of their convictions is strong 
upon them, Satan changes his course, as Pharaoh did, 
and allows them to promise that they will go and serve 
the Lord ; but this he only makes a pretext for keep- 
ing them in his service. And so he goes on, putting 
one excuse after another into their mouths. One 
plague after another came upon Pharaoh, and every 
time he would promise to let the people go ; but then, 
every time, there was a holding back of something. 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 265 

At first, be would let them go, only they must not go 
verv far away ; then he would let them go, but they 
must not take their little ones ; and again they might 
go with their little ones, but they must leave their 
cattle behind. All these things were devices to re- 
tain the people in his service ; but God would make 
no compromise. He must have their whole service. 
So with sinners. Satan would retain them in his ser- 
vice, and so he persuades them to reserve this thing 
or that, which they are not willing to give up ; and to 
resort to this or that expedient for delay. One would 
be willing to serve the Lord, if this or that young 
companion would go ; but he has more regard for his 
associates in the hard bondage of sin and Satan, than 
he has for God. He would rather go down to hell 
and serve Satan forever, along with his companions, 
than to break away from them and serve God alone. 
Others are not ready. God has called too soon. 
They have this or that pleasure to seek first ; or 
there is something, they imagine, in their circumstan- 
ces, which, in their view, renders it inconvenient or 
impossible for them to go yet. Some young people 
think they have not yet had their fill of pleasure ; or 
they are ambitious of accomplishing something which 
they regard as essential to their future distinction In 
society ; or they find some other expedient for delay. 
They are in love with the pleasures of Egypt ; and 
they have not yet made up their minds whether they 
will leave the service of Satan ; yet while they linger, 
God may seal them over to eternal condemnation. 
Others, in the prime of life, have yet something to 
accomplish for themselves, before they are ready to 
23 



266 PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

go out of Egypt. They would get a competence, — 
they have a farm to pay for, — or this or that object to 
accomplish^ before they are ready. They would de- 
lay a little longer ; and so it will presently come to 
pass that, when they cry out of their hard bondage, 
with bitter tears, God will say to them, '' Because I 
have called, and ye refused ; I have stretched out my 
hand, and no man regarded ; but ye have set at 
naught all my counsel, and would none of my re- 
proof; I also will laugh at your calamity, and mock 
when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as 
desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirl- 
wind ; when distress and anguish cometh upon you ; 
then shtall they call upon me, but I will not answer ; 
they shall seek me e^rly, but they shall not find me." 
It is a fearful thing to trifle with the strivings of the 
Holy Spirit. If you now choose your own ways, 
then God will choose your delusions, because, when 
he called to you, none did answ^er, and when he 
spake, none did hear. 

6. This subject furnishes a very striking illustra- 
tion of Christian experience. When the children of 
Israel had escaped from Egypt, and passed the Red 
Sea, they were full of joy, and lifted upT their united 
voice in a song of praise to God. But they knew 
nothing of the way that was before them. They 
probably anticipated a speedy entrance into the prom- 
ised land. So the young convert^ when he has just 
escaped from the bondage of Satan y is full of joy and 
wonder, and lifts up his voice in praise. And this is 
well. God gives him a foretaste of heavenly joys, to 
prepare him to encounter the conflict that is before 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 267 

him. But of this conflict he knows nothing. He 
anticipates the same calm, serene, uninterrupted en- 
joyment, which he experiences in the freshness of his 
first love. It is well that the trials to come are hid 
from him, that he may gather strength for the conflict. 
But it was only three days after the children of Israel 
were rejoicing and singing the praises of God, on ac- 
count of their deliverance, wh^n they began to mur- 
mur for want of water. So with the young Christian. 
While all is caki and peaceful, he knows not the evil 
that yet remains in his heart ; but when crosses and 
trials come, remaining corruptions rebel, and he finds 
his heart frets agaitist the :provid€nces of God, The 
same thing is repeatedly illustrated, by similar con- 
duct, on the part of the children of Israel, when 
brought into straits. There are, also, awful exam- 
ples of backsliding. The children of Israel, even in 
Sight of Mount Sinai, turned back to the worship of 
the gods of Egypt; and often they sighed for the 
pleasures of the land which they had left. And how 
often do young converts, even in sight of the altar 
where they pledged themselves, and of the emblems 
of the dying love of the Saviour, go back to their 
idols, and hanker after the pleasures of sin. Whether 
such are truly converted, or not, I do not pretend to 
determine ; but many do thus backslide, who are 
afterwards recovered to a more devoted life, as Aaron 
and the tribe of Levi were ; but probably the greater 
part of backsliders will fall in the wilderness, as the 
greater part of those did, who bowed down to the 
golden calf. Yet how dreadful the sin of a leading 
man or a minister, ^ Aaron was, who backslides. 



268 PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

and leads a multitude along with blm, many of whom 
will not return when he returns. There are, also, 
solemn warnings against unbelief. But for this sin, 
the children of Israel might have entered the prom- 
ised land in about two years ; but to cure them of this 
sin, they were driven about in the wilderness forty 
years. And but for this sin. Christians might, doubt- 
less, come into a state of elevated and permanent en- 
joyment of God, with a constant foretaste of the hea- 
venly Canaan, without being tossed and driven about 
in a dry and barren land for many years, as it appears 
most of them are, to cure the plague of their hearts. 
There are many more points of resemblance between 
the journey of the children of Israel and the experi- 
ence of Christians, which I leave the reader to trace 
out, by comparing them with his own experience. I 
leave the point with this remark : — That there does 
not appear to have been any necessity for the chil- 
dren of Israel to have encountered the evils which 
they did in the wilderness. If they had gone forward 
in the same spirit which they began, trusting in God 
for every emergency, submitting to him, and rejoicing 
in his holy providences towards them, it is altogether 
probable, that, after a short and easy passage through 
the wilderness, they would have gained possession of 
Canaan without difficulty. But it was their sins 
which created all the difficulty. So with the Chris- 
tian. There is no necessity for his backshding. 
There is no necessity for his walking in darkness. 
If he would but trust in God, looking continually to 
Jesus, he might go on his way rejoicing and hoping 
firm unto the end. There were some among the 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 269 

children of Israel who did not backslide. Caleb and 
Joshua kept on an even course of obedience, and 
never departed from God ; and they became pillars 
in the church, and were richly rewarded in the land 
of Canaan. O that there wera many such in the 
churches of our day 1 

7. This subject furnishes two valuable illustrations 
of the nature and necessity of faith in Christ, in the 
Passover and tlie brazen serpent, both of which are 
typical, as appears both from their connection with 
the great typical events already mentioned, and from 
the allusions made to them by Christ and tlie apostle 
Paul. The paschal lamb represented the sacrifice of 
Christ. The victim selected was a lamb, the em- 
blem of innocence, to show that he was to suffer the 
just for the unjust; it was to be roasted and eaten 
whole, to show, perhaps, that Christ is to be taken as 
a whole and complete Saviour, and that we are to 
rely upon him alone for salvation ; and not a bone of 
it was to be broken, to point to the same thing in the 
death of Christ. But the blood of the lamb was to 
be sprinkled upon the door-posts, as a sign to the de- 
stroying angel, to pass over those houses. Now it 
would have been of no avail for any family that the 
Passover was slain, if they had not sprinkled the blood 
on the door-posts. The destroying angel would have 
entered in and performed his work of death. So 
with sinners : it will be of no avail to them that Christ 
has died to atone for their sins. There must be an 
application of his blood by faith. It required faith in 
God's appointed means, to induce the children of 
Israel to sprinkle the blood of the Passover on their 
23* 



270 PRACTICAL REMARKS. 

doors ; and it requires faith in the way of salvation 
which he has now appointed, to render it available for 
the salvation of any. If any had presumed on the 
goodness of God, and said, " Surely, God is too 
good to send his destroying angel into my house, to 
kill my first-born," and so had neglected the ap- 
pointed means of preservation, would his house have 
been saved ? So now, if any one presumes to be 
wiser than God, and to say, '' Surely, God is too 
good to punish any of us forever in hell," and so 
neglects the blood of sprinkling, will God pass over 
him in the day of vengeance ? 

So of the brazen serpent. The people were bit- 
ten with fiery flying serpents, whose sting, hke the 
sting of sin, was certain death. Multitudes around, 
were falling into the grave under the influence of the 
venomous poison, as multitudes now are dropping 
into the bottomless pit under the sting of sin. The 
brazen serpent, an emblem of Christ on the cross, 
was raised up in sight of all the people. Their sin 
was unbelief ; and to look upon the brazen serpent 
required faith in God's word ; but if they w^ould not 
look, they must die. There was no remedy. So 
with sinners. Their great sin is unbelief. The act 
of faith required of them, is, to look to Christ on the 
cross, — to look at him in his humiliation and exalta- 
tion, — suffering, bleeding, dying, rising, ascended on 
high, — and trust in his almighty power to save. It 
was no great thing required of the dying Israelite, — it 
was only "look and live," — it is no great thing that 
is required of you, dying sinner, — only ^' look and 



PRACTICAL REMARKS. 271 

live." But refuse to look and live, and you must 
certainly die, — for ever die. 

8. This subject teaches the dreadful nature of unbe- 
lief, and with what awful abhorrence God regards it. 
It was unbelief, or want of confidence in the word of 
God, which brought those dreadful plagues upon the 
children of Israel in the wilderness, and shut a whole 
generation out of the promised land, leaving their car- 
casses in the wilderness. Tliis is a solemn warning 
to us. It is unbelief, or want of confidence in God's 
promises, which keeps the church so low. It is un- 
belief, O impenitent reader, which will destroy your 
soul. God says, though he is gracious and merciful, 
long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, he 
will by no means clear the guilty, but will punish 
them with everlasting destruction from the presence 
of God, and the glory of his power. But you say, 
'' No ; I do not believe it, — God is too good to pun- 
ish men forever in hell." The reason you think so 
is, that you have no adequate views of the evil of sin. 
This one sin of unbelief is enough to shut you out of 
heaven forever. Would you have a man in your 
house that would not believe your word ? No ; and 
God will not have you in his house, if you believe 
not his word ; for the '' fearful and the unbelieving," 
as well as the ''abominable and murderers," "shall 
have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and 
brimstone : which is the second death." There is 
no mansion in our Father's house for unbelievers, — 
there is no place there for those who make our Father 
a liar ! 



272 CONCLUSION. 



CONCLUSION. 



In the foregoing pages, I have shown that the Ple- 
nary Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures j rests on four 
strong and massy pillars. The first is, the adapted- 
ness of the system of religion which they reveal, to 
the circumstances and wants of men. This, I think, 
I have proved beyond question ; and, also, that there 
is no other system of religion which answers this end. 
But this falls to the ground the moment the Plenary 
Inspiration of the Scriptures is given up. For those 
who regard the Scriptures at best as but partially in- 
spired, invariably give up or deny what is essential to 
the grand system there revealed. Therefore, this 
pillar, which supports the Plenary Inspiration of the 
Scriptures, likewise supports the Evangelical System, 
in distinction from Socinianism, or Unitarianism, Uni- 
versalism, and kindred errors. None of these have 
any claim, on the score of adaptedness, to the wants 
of man. They are mere caricatures of Christianity ; 
and they by no means form this pillar of which I 
speak. If they were put under the PlexLary Inspi- 
ration of the Bible^ they would be like a marred and 
broken column. They would not support it. They 
do not even profess to rest upon it, but reject it, as 
the only means of their own support. But evangeli- 
cal Christianity is the system taught in the Bible, un- 
derstood in its plain and obvious import ; and what 
this system has done, and what it is capable of doing 
for mankind, show that it must be of God. 



CONCLUSION. 273 

The Second Pillar is entirely different in its na- 
ture from the first* It is conriposed of the evidence 
of fact. It is a mere question oifact^ not of opinion. 
And I think no fact, which depends on the testimony 
of credible witnesses, sustained by circumstantial evi- 
dence, is more clearly and fully established, than that 
the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are 
the infallible word of God, containing a perfect stand- 
ard of truth and duty. This has been abundantly 
shown in the foregoing pages ; though but a small 
part of the evidence has been exhibited^ Yet if this 
is impartially examined, on the common principles of 
evidence, the witnesses will be found unimpeachable, 
then- testimony consistent and fair, and every link in 
the chain of circumstances perfect and entire. This 
pillar cannot be shaken. 

The Third Pillar is a marvellous one. To the eye 
of the unbeliever, it is nothing but an ill-shapen mass 
of ruins, which does not at all support the edifice. 
On the contrary, in his view, it appears certain 
that the building must fall, because it is supported by 
such a pillar. But to the believer, it is a column of 
massive strength and stupendous grandeur ; and the 
more he examines it, the more he discovers the per- 
fection of its parts and the beauty of its architecture. 
The unbeliever argues, from the nature of the things 
taught in the Bible, that it cannot be from God. He 
beholds in it nought but a mass of " contradictions 
and absurdities ;" while the believer is not only con- 
vinced in his understanding, but feels in his heart, 
that the things taught in the Scriptures must be a re- 
velation from God. This strange fact is accounted 



274 CONCLUSION. 

for in this same book ; and this is a further evidence 
of its divine origin: ''The natural man," says the 
Bible, ''receiveth not the things of the Spirit of 
God : for they are foolishness unto him : neither can 
he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 

Lead a blind man up before a piece of splendid 
architecture, and he cannot discern its beauty. So 
lead a natural man to contemplate the spiritual things 
revealed in the Bible, and he cannot see their beauty, 
because he has no spiritual discernment. But multi* 
tudes who reject the Bible on this very ground, — on 
account of what it teaches, — never carefully look Into 
it With what discernment they have, to see what it 
does teach. They condemn it without examination. 
This is prejudice and injustice in the highest degree. 
But it is true of most of the champions of infidelity, 
wEo have written against the Scriptures. An English 
gentleman, in conversation with Thomas Paine, some 
time after the publication of his '' Age of Reason," 
found him deplorably ignorant of the Scriptures, and 
drew out from him the confession, that he had never 
carefully studied them. And the assertions of those 
pretended Christians^ who come out at this day 
against the Plenary Inspiration of th^ Scriptures, 
show that they have never given the Bible a thorough, 
impartial, and candid examination, in order to know 
what it does teach. 

The Fourth Pillar is a column constructed of four 
pieces, most curiously wrought together, and so 
placed, that every one who examines it must see that 
it is impossible for the edifice \which it supports, to 
fall. The two branches of prophecy, one relating to 



CONCLUSION. 275 

the Jews, and the other to the rest of mankind, agree 
so perfectly with history, as to demonstrate the fact, 
that the prophecy must have been given by inspiration. 
And, then, the twofold predictions of the Messiah, 
contained in the prophecies and types, delivered gen- 
erations before he came, and all so perfectly fulfilled 
in the person of Jesus Christ, show beyond contra- 
diction, both that these prophecies and types must 
have been given by inspiration, and that Jesus Christ 
must be a divine person. 

In view of all this array of testimony, I cannot but 
admire and adore the condescension of the blessed 
God, that he has been pleased, in so diversified and 
conclusive a manner, to attest his revelation ; adapt- 
ing the evidence to the constitution of different minds. 
With what astonishment, then, must the angels look 
upon the stupidity and blindness of men, when they 
see this revelation rejected by such multitudes of the 
human race ! And how aggravated must be the sin of 
unbeliefs when committed against such testimony ! 
Who can doubt that the Bible is rejected, not from 
want of evidence, but because the truths which it re- 
veals are hated ? And no wonder that the sin of un- 
belief is ranked among the most enormous crimes, 
and punished accordingly. Rejecters of the Bible 
are not merely mistaken ; but they are criminal. It 
is not an error only, but a sin^ to reject the Bible. 
And it is a great and aggravated sin in the sight of 
God. It casts contempt upon him, and openly sets 
his authority at defiance. It is sinning presumptu- 
ously, — a sin which, by the law of Moses, was pun- 
ished with death : '' But the soul that doeth aught 



276 CONCLUSION, 

presumptuously, — the same reproacheth the Lord ; 
and that soul shall be cut off from his people, '^^* 
Yet there are men among us, standing in 
pulpits consecrated by our fathers to the 
proclamation of the word of god, as con- 
TAINED IN THE Holy Scriptures, and ac- 
knowledged BY A deluded people AS CHRIS- 
tian ministers, who proclaim from these 
pulpits that the bible is not the word of 
God! 

* Numb. XV., 30, 



APPENDIX. 



A. 



^ACTS SHOWING THE ANTIQUITY AND AUTHENTICITT 
OF THE BIBIii^. 

In the foregoing pages it has been shown that the authenticity 
and truth of the Holy Scriptures cannot be separated from their 
inspiration. If they are tr^ie, they must be inspired ; because 
they hiy claim to direct inspiration ; and many of the facts stated 
are of a miraculous nature ; so that if the Scriptures were not 
given by inspiration, it will follow that they are full of falsehood 
and imposture. Any facts, therefore, which go to prove the truth 
of the statements contained in the Bible, go just as far to prove its 
inspiration. I have, therefore, collected "in this note a number of 
interesting facts of this nature, in a condensed form, which my 
plan did not admit of being brought into the body of the work. 
Some of these will be of use in the study of the introductory les- 
son of volume V, of my ** Scripture Questions." It is hoped, 
however, that these brief statements will not prevent a more ex- 
tended examination of the subject, by such as have the means of 
making it ; but the rather operate sls an incitement to inquiry and 
research. 

1, ANTIQtriTY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 

Among all the books in the world, not one is to be found that 
comes within the reach of the writings of Moses in point of antU 

24 



278 APPENDIX- 

qnity. They stand alone, without any record to cope or compare 
with them. The Bible may well be said to contain the only his- 
tory of our race. There is no authentic profane history of higher 
antiquity than about the conclusion of the canon of the Old Testa- 
ment. Nehemiah, the last of the sacred historians, was contem- 
porary with Herodotus, the father of profane history. The high 
antiquity of these Scriptures is proved beyond question, by three 
facts : (1) All the books of the Old Testament, except Job and 
those professedly written after the Babylonish captivity, were 
written in pure Hebrew, which ceased to be a spoken language 
after that period. These books, therefore, must have been writ- 
ten before the Babylonish captivity. Job is a mixture of Arabic 
and Hebrew ; just what might have been expected from the scene 
having been laid in Arabia ; the remainder are a mixture of He- 
brew and Chaldee, which fixes their date in the generation of the 
captivity. (2.) It is an undeniable fact that the Old Testament 
was translated into Greek more than two centuries and a half be- 
fore the Christian era, during the reign and by the order of Ptoly- 
my Philadelphus, king of Egypt. (3.) The Old Testament was 
translated into Chaldee, and commented on by Jewish WTiters, 
before the Christian era. All these facts together show the Old 
Testament Scriptures to be books of high antiquity. 



II. GENUINENESS OF THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTA.- 

MENT. 

The genuineness of the Penteteuch was acknowledged by Por- 
phyry and Julian, two of the most bitter of Pagan writers. The 
impossibility of the corruption of the text, within several centuries 
before the Christian era, will appear from the fact of its being in 
the possession both of the Jews and Samaritans, who were at bitter 
enmity against each other ; and the Samaritan Penteteuch has 
come down to us, and is found to agree with the Hebrew. The 
game may be said, also, of the Greek and Chaldaic versions ; 
which furnished a guard against interpolation. Nor could the text 
of the Old Testament have been corrupted since the Christian era ; 
because the origiaal Hebrew has been in the hands of both Jewg 



APPENDIX. 279 

and Christians, who would operate as a guard upon each other. 
And the impossibility of its interpolation before the period first 
spoken of, will appear from the extreme care Tak^n to preserve the 
exact integrity of the text. ** With a strictness the most punctili- 
ous, and a zeal the most persevering, it has in past ages been a 
practice among the Jews to number how often each Hebrew letter 
recurred in each and every book, or how often in the beginning, 
middle, and end of a word ; and every varied mode was tried by 
which the fidelity of a manuscript could be ascertained. On the 
discovery of the slightest error, whatever the previous labor, the 
parchment was committed to the flames. A perfect copy of the 
Scriptures was often the work of years." 



III. FACTS CORROBORATIVE OF THE SCRIPTURE NAR- 
RATIVES. 

■•'The heathens had a tradition among them, concerning the 
primeval chaos whence the world arose, and the production of all 
things by the efficiency of a Supreme JMind, which bears so close 
a resemblance to the Mosaic account of the creation, as proves that 
they all originated from one source ; while the striking contrast 
between the unadorned simplicity of the one, and the allegorical 
turgidity of the other, accurately distinguishes the inspired narra- 
tives from the distorted tradition. This remark applies particularly 
to the Chaldeans, Egyptians, Phoenicians, Hindoos, Chinese, Etrus- 
cans, Greeks, and Americans."* 

The following extract from the learned Grotius, is invaluable : 
** The nations which most rigidly retained ancient customs reck- 
oned time by nights, darkness having originally preceded light, as 
Thales taught from the ancients. The remembrance of the com- 
pletion of the work of creation on the seventh day was preserved 
by the honor in which the seventh day was held, not only among 
the Greeks and Italians, as we learn from Josephus, Philo, Tibul- 
lus, Clemens Alexandrinus, and Lucian (and, as is manifest, among 
the Hebrews,) but also among the Celts and Indians, by all of 

* Heme. 



280 APPENDIX. 

whom time was divided by weeks, as Philostratus, Dion Cassins, 
and Justin Martyr inform us, and as the most ancient names of 
the days do show. From the Egyptians we learn that man's life 
at the beginning was simple or innocent, and that his body was 
naked ; hence the golden age of the poets, which, according to 
Strabo, was celebrated by the Indians. Maimonides remarked 
that the history of Adam^ of Eve, of the tree, and of the serpent, 
existed in bis time among the idolatrous Indians ^ and witnesses 
likewise of our own age testify that the same tradition exists among 
the inhabitants of Peru and of the Philippine islands, who derived 
their origin from India ; that the name of Adam is found among 
the Brahmins, and that the Siamese reckon 6000 years since the 
creation of the world. Berosus, in his history of the Chaldeans, 
Manetho, in that of the Egyptians, Hsestia^us, Hecatseus, Halbani- 
cus in their histories of Greece, and Hesiod among the poets, have 
related that the life of those who were descended of the first men 
extended to nearly a thousand years, which is the less incredible, 
as the histories of a great many nations, and especially Pausanias 
and Philostratos among the Greeks, and Pliny among the Romans, 
relate that the bodies of men iti ancient times were much larger, 
as was fbu^nd by opening the tombs. Catullus, fallowing many of 
the Greek writers, relates that divine visions appeared to man be- 
fore the frequency and enormity of his offences secluded him from 
converse with the Deity and his angels. The savage life of the 
giants, mentioned by Moses, is almost every where spoken of by 
the Greek writers, and some of the Roman. Concerning^ the del- 
uge, it is to be remarked, that the traditions of all nations, even of 
those which were long unknown, and have been recently discover- 
ed, terminate in its history ; whence also all that time was called 
unknown by Varro. And what we read in the poets, mystified by 
the license of fable, the most ancient writers had related truly, 
i.e., agreeably to Moses, viz., Berosus among the Chaldeans, 
Abydinus among the Assyrians, who, like Plutarch among the 
Greeks, mentions the sending forth of the dove, and Lucian, who 
says that at Hierapolis of Syria there existed a very ancient history 
both of the ark, and of chosen men and other living creatures hav- 
ing thereby been preserved. At Molo, also, and at Nicholaiw 
Damascenus, the same account prevailed, the latter of which had 



APPENDIX. 281 

the name of ark, as Apollodorus also relates in the history of Deu- 
calion, Many Spaniards likewise testify that in parts of America, 
Cuba, Mechoana, Nicaragua, the remembrance of the deluge, of 
the preservation of animals, and of the crow ard pigeon, is still 
preserved ; and of the deluge itself, in that part now called Golden 
Castile, and Pliny's remark that Joppa was built before the flood, 
informs us of a part of the world which was then inhabited. The 
place where the ark rested after the flood, on the Gordyaean 
mountains, is pointed to by the constant tradition of the Armenians, 
from age to age, till the present day. Japhet, primogenitor of the 
Europeans, and from him lor, or, as it was formerly pronounced, 
Javon of the Greeks, also Hammon of the Africans, are names to 
be found in the writings of Moses, and others are traced by Jose- 
phus and other writers in the names of nations and places. Which 
of the poets does not mention the attempt to climb the heavens ? 
The burning of Sodom is recorded by Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, 
Tacitus, Pliny, and Solenius. Herodotus, Diodorus, Strabo, and 
Philo Biblius bear testimony to the very ancient custom of circum- 
ci^'ion, which was practised among the descendants of Abraham ; 
not the Hebrews only, but also the Idumeans, Ishmaelites, and 
others. The history of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, in 
accordance with that of Moses, formerly existed in Philo Biblius, 
taken from Sanchoniathon in Berosus, Ifecatseus, Damascenus, 
Artaphanus, Eupolimus, Demetrius, and partly in the very ancient 
writers of the Orphic sorgs, and something is still extant in Justin, 
taken from Trogus Pompeius. In almost all these there is also a 
history of Moses and his actions. For the Orphic songs expressly 
mention that he was drawn out of the water, and the two tables 
?trere given him from God. To these we may add Polemon, and 
not a faw things relating to the departure out of Egypt, from the 
Egyptian writers Manetho, Lysimachus, and Chseremon. Nor can 
it appear credible to any prudent man, that Moses, to whom both 
the Egyptians and many other nations, as the Idumeans, Arabians, 
and Phoenicians, were hostile, would have dared to speak openly 
of the origin of the world and of the most ancient events, which 
could be refuted either by former writings, or was opposed to the 
ancient and popular belief, or that he would have published what 
happened in his own time, which many alive could have disproved. 

24* 



282 APPENDIX. 

Drodoms Siculus, Strabo, Pliny, alsa Tacitus, and after them: 
Dionysius Longinus (on the Sublime) all speak of Moses. Be- 
sides the Talmuds, Pliny and Apoleiua mention also Janrines and 
Manfibres, who resisted Moses in Egypt. Many things are found 
in the Pythiagorean writings about the rites given by Moses, and 
also some things m other vv^riters. Strabo and Justin, out of Tro- 
gns, particularly bear witness to^ the rdigion and justice of the an- 
cient Jews, &c." 

Eupolemus and DJua menthn many remarkable circumstances 
of David antl Solomon, agreeing with the Old Testament history ; 
and Herodotus has a remarkable passage, evidently referring to the 
destruction of the Assyrians, in the reign of Ilezekiah, in which he 
mentions Sennacherib by name. There Js, Irkewise, a general 
correspondence between sacred and profane history, even in re- 
gard to things mentioned incidentally.* 

The following statement is taken from «* Keith's Demonstration 
cf the Tristh of Christianity :" 

*« In respect to the creation of the world from a state of chaos, 
and the formation of man from the clay or dust of the earth, though 
alike antecedent to all human testimony, the concurrence of the 
Scriptural narrative with that which had come down fram tlie 
earlies-t ages is such that Ovid, recaunting it, seems to be the par- 
aphrast of Moses. Long prior to the most ancient of records, the 
great events which involved the destiny of our race were necessa- 
rily such as could not but be transmitted, though in a faint and 
fabulous form, from generation to generation. And the golden age, 
in which holiness and happiness prevailed, denotes the primeval 
innocence and bliss, when all things were good as God created 
them. The garden of the Hesperides, bearing golden apples, is a 
picture of the garden of Eden, where grew every tree that is pleas- 
ant to the sight ; while the serpent that is reputed to have guarded 
them, together with the prevalence of serpent-worship throughout 
the world, is too faithful a testimony that there was a serpent 
there. Testimonies to the same fact may be drawn from the New 
World as from the Old. < It is quite notorious that serptjnt-wor- 

• Home. 



APPENDIX. 283 

ship was the great characteristic of Mexican mythology. If the 
serpent symbol at Palenque, conveys a strong indication of Tulti- 
can affinity with Syria, there are numerous others of a still more 
convincing nature. Dupriin exhibits a silver medal, found in one 
of the sepulchral monuments, which indeed points to the source 
of the whole Ophitic (serpent) worship. A man and woman are 
represented in a garden with a serpent near them. This is obviously 
a picture record of the first pair in Eden, the serpent, and the fall.' 
Pandora's box, on the opening of which, by the hand of a woman, 
all evils spread throughout the world, is a significant emblem of 
the origin of evil ; while hope, at the bottom, was as significant a 
symbol of the prophetic promise, that, by the seed of the woman, 
evil would finally be destroyed. 

** The memory of the deluge was not lost by any nation from 
the one extremity of the globe to the other ; and in proof that the 
tradition w^as maintained through many ages, evidence of the same 
fact has been borne in modern times from China, Ilindostan, the 
islands of the Pacific, Mexico, and Peru, which concurs with the 
testimony, remote in time as in place, which Chaldea, Egypt, 
Persia, Greece, and Rome anciently supplied. ' The people of 
Mechoacan have preserved a tradition, according to which Coxcox, 
whom they called Tezpi, embarked in a spacious acalli, with his 
wife and children, many animals and grain, the preservation of 
which was dear to the human race. When the Great Spirit com- 
manded the waters to retire, Tezpi sent forth from his bark a vulture. 
The bird, nourished by dead fiesh, did not return, on account of 
the great number of carcasses which were scattered upon the 
newly-dried earth. Tezpi sent out other birds, of which the 
humming-bird alone returned, bearing in its beak a branch cover- 
ed with leaves. After which Tezpi, seeing that the soil began to 
be covered with new verdure, left his bark near the mountain of 
Colhuacan.* ' Everywhere,' adds Humboldt, « the traces of a 
common origin, the opinions concerning cosmogony, and the prim- 
itive traditions of nations, present a striking analogy even in minute 
circumstances. Does not the humming-bird of Tezpi call to mind 
the dove of Noah, that of Deucalion, and the birds, according to 
Berosus, which Xisutrus sent forth from the ark, to try if the wa- 
ters had subsided, and if as yet he could erect altars to the gods 



284 APPENDIX. 

of ChMen}'— Humboldt, Vues des Cor dill er es, \). 227. The 
raven no less than the dove, and the order no less than the name ; 
the first, the ravenous bird not returning ; the second, forever 
afterward the bird of peace, re-appearing and re-entering, identify 
each narrative as that of the selfsame fact with a speciality of circum- 
stances which sober reason cannot misinterpret or mistrust. And 
the leafy twig in the bill of a little bird needs but to be tradition- 
ally brought back again from the extremity of the globe, where, 
without the possibility of being transplanted anew, it h?d flourished 
for many ages, in order to prove» at last, as fresh a testimony, to the 
old world and to the new, of the truth of the fact, as at first it was a 
sure token to the inmates of the ark that they should soon tread on 
the renovated earth. How, but as coming from the only surviving 
family of man, could the tradition have been preserved simple and 
uncorrupted, in the midst of the remotest regions so long undiscov- 
ered. One half of the world was unknown unto the other, but the 
twig that a bird did bear was remembered by both ; nor was the 
leaf forgottsn. It survived like the ark in a deluged world ; and 
it alone rnay show that faith may bud again where afore it was 
blasted." 

A traveller, named Du Pratz, inquired of a priest of one of the 
western tribes of North American Indians, respecting their views 
of the creation. The priest replied that God kneaded some clay, 
and made it into a little man ; and when he had examined it, and 
found it. well formed, he blew upon it, and it was filled with life 
and activity. One of the chiefs of the Sauks told Major Marston 
that they believed the Great Spirit first created two men out of the 
dirt of the earth ; but finding that these alone w^uld not answer 
his purpose, he took a rib from each, and made two women ; and 
that all the human race came from these four. He said they were 
all of one nation till they behaved so badly that the Great Spirit 
came among them, and talked different languages to them, so that 
they separated, and formed different nations. An old Indian in 
Ohio informed Dr. Beatty that they had an old tradition that the 
waters once overflowed all the land, and jlrowned all the people 
then living, except a few, who made a great canoe, and were 
saved in it. He said, also, that a long time ago, the people went 
to build a high place ; but while they were building it they lost 



APPENDIX. 285 

their language, and could not understand each other. The Indians 
also have a tradition that the first woman had two sons ; and that 
the elder killed the younger. The Mandans have a ceremony, in 
which they have a kind of curb, six feet across and ten feet high, 
which they call the great canoe ; and which is evidently designed 
to represent Noah's ark. In tliis ceremony they have some edged 
tools, to represent the tools with which the ark was made, which, 
in the end, they throw into the water. 

Here we discover traditions of the creation ; the story of Cain 
and Abel ; the deluge ; and the building of Babel, and division of 
languages ; v»'hich can be accounted for on no other supposition 
than the truth of the Mosaic narrative. 

Another species of corroborative testimony to the truth of the 
Scripture narratives, is, the existing monuments of facts therein 
recorded. The following statement is extracted from Keith : — 

** The prophetic fate of the sons of Noah is visible to this hour, 
the very names of several of the earliest nations, — such as the 
Canaanites, Assyrians, Elymoeites, Lydians, Medes, and Hebrews, 
— corroborate to the letter the historical facts recorded by Moses, 
that Canaan, Ashur, Elam, Lud, Madai, and Eber were justly 
numbered among the descendants of Noah, by whom the nations 
were divided in the earth after the flood. * The period of seven 
days, by far the most permanent division of time, and the most 
ancient monument of astronomical knowledge, was used by the 
Brahmins in India with the same denominations employed by us, 
and was alike found in the calendars of the Jews, Egyptians, 
Arabs, and Assyrians. It has survived the fall of empires, and 
has existed among all successive generations, a proof of their com- 
mon origin.' While the destruction of Sodom, synchronical with 
the call of Abraham, did not pass unnoticed by ancient writers, the 
Dead Sea, a bituminous lake, unlike to any other, is a striking cor- 
roboration of the recorded judgment on the cities of the plain, 
which its waters have since filfed : and the recent and remarkable 
discovery, that the Jordan, before its course was stayed, passed 
through the plain, and flowed into the Red Sea, is strikingly illus- 
trative of the Scriptural narrative, as Colonel Leake, the learned 
editor of Burckhardt's work, has observed ; and that fact has since 
been amply elucidated by the scientific Leon Laborde, and the evi- 



286 APPENDIX. 

dence is set before us by a cbart of the chann(^l, or of the valley 
through which the Jordan fl ;wed, and which still retains its nanae, 
El Ghor, where the Jordan once flowed, as where it still flows on. 
*« And while the alleged want of a contenriporary history is thus 
newly supplied, a still more recent discovery presents a contempo- 
rary picture, coeval with the birth of Moses, and copied by Rosse- 
lini and Wilkinson, which may be said to be a commentary on the 
first chapter of Exodus, and to set the Israelites before our eyes ac- 
tually engaged in the hard bondage of mortar and brick as Moses des- 
cribed them. The Egyptian taskmaster is set over them with a rod 
in his hand ; the diversity of color as well as of their countenances, 
distinguish the oppressed Hebrew slaves ; and the whole process of 
their labor is seen till the tale of bricks may be counted. * Their 
countenances are as perfectly Jewish,' according to the Literary Ga- 
zette, * as those of any old clothesmen from St. Mary Axe, who now 
perambulate the streets of London, Neither Lawrence nor Jack- 
son could have painted more real Jew.<3 ; the features so change- 
less and so peculiar to that people. And then their occupation ; 
the several portions of the process of brick-making, their limbs be- 
spattered with the mud, and their Egyptian taskmasters with ih© 
scourge superintending their labor. The whole seems to us to be 
a clear and decisive evidence, not only of the captivity, but of the 
actual circumstances related in the history of Moses. The Egyp- 
tians in the original are painted in the usual red ; the Israelites of a 
sallow color ; and when we reflect that^ throughout all the other 
subjects figured in these sepulchres of Beni-Hassan, the utmost 
regard is paid to individuality, and even to minute accessories, we 
cannot imagine a reason to induce us to question the truth and ap- 
plication of this remarkable discovery.' « Rosselini's last livraison 
of illustrations brings those Jews before our eyes who were cap- 
tives in Egypt under the eighteenth dynasty, and previous to the 
Exodus. Independently of other evidence drawn from the phone- 
tic language to prove that they are Jews, no cursory reader who 
glances at their lineaments or persons will for a moment doubt their 
identity. These Jews are employed under the dynasty of the very 
kings contemporary with Moses, in the specific act of slavery, 
which he and Manetho both describe, viz., making bricks and 
working in the quarries. An Egyptian taskmaster superintends the 



APPENDIX. 287 

work ; and the bricks, according to their delineation, are precisely 
those which are found in walls constructed of bricks, the date of 
which is assignable to the era in question.' The Egyptians set 
over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens, and 
made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar and in 
brick, and in all manner of service in the field.* 

*« The tenriporary triumph of the Egyptians over the Jews, in a 
subsequent age, has also, in that land of their enemies, a striking 
memorial. Shishak, or Sheshouk, king of Egypt, is represented 
in another of Champollion's drawings * as dragging the chiefs 
of above thirty conquered nations to the feet of the idols of Thebes.' 
One of these is represented in hieroglyphic characters, as Joudaha 
Malek, the king of Judah. And in the chronicles of the kings of 
Judah we read that Rehoboam (the son of Solomon) forsook the 
law of the Lord, and all Israel with him. And in the fifth year of 
King Rehoboam, Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusa- 
lem, and took the fenced cities of Judah, and came to Jerusalem. 
Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam and to the princes 
of Judah that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shis- 
hak, and said unto them. Thus saith the Lord, Ye have forsaken 
me, and therefore have I also left you in the hands of Shishak. 
So Shishak, king of Egypt, came up against Jerusalem, and took 
away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures 
of the king's house : he carried away also the shields of gold 
which Solomon had made."t Rehoboam, the king of Judah, is 
still to be seen, as for a time he was left, according to the word of 
the prophet, in the hand of Shishak, king of Egypt. 

*' The history of the Jews needs not any other concurring evi- 
dence to show that their prophetic fate was porti'ayed by Moses as 
faithfully as a painter could depict their visage. While he is thus 
set forth as the prophet of the Highest, it may be mentioned, as 
Grotius and others have shown, that Pagan writers, in ancient 
times, failed not to pay some tribute of respect to the legislator of 
Israel. As a writer, he was deemed worthy by Longinus of hon- 
orable mention in his treatise on the Sublime. As the promulgator 

♦Exodus i, 11, 14. 1 1 Kings xvi, 26. 2 Chron. xii, 1-9. 



288 APPENDIX. 

of a new religion, wholly divested of idolatry, Strabo describes 
him as abandoning Egypt, followed by those who worshipped God 
alone, and planting his people and his faith in that land of which Je- 
rusalem was afterward the capital. The name of the desert, JEl 
Tih^ or the wandering, is yet a testimony of the wanderings of 
the Israelites. And in reference to the history of Moses, Laborde, 
who partly traversed the same route, states that the Bible is so 
concise and so precisely true, that it is only by a close attention to 
each word that all its merit can be discovered. The tomb of 
Aaron, on the summit of Mount Hor, is one of the most conspicu- 
ous objects in the land of Edom, and, surrounded as it is by many 
an evidence of prophetic truth, still bears testimony to the death 
and burying-place of the first high-priest of Israel. Aaron died 
there on the top of the mount. Though, till within these very few 
years, unheard of and unknown, and situated in the midst of the 
land of the enemies of Israel ; though for many ages possessed by 
the wild Arabs, neither of Israelitish nor of Christian faith, yet 
there, on the top of Mount Hor, where he died, is the tomb of 
Aaron, a memorial on the spot." 

The name o^ Peleg was given, according to the Mosaic account, 
because that, in his days, the earth was divided among the families 
of the sons of Noah ;* and it is ascertained y by modern discov- 
eries, that the origin of primitive kingdoms is traced to a common 
era, and identified with the life-time of Peleg. To the same period, 
also, the Mosaic account assigns the building of Babel ; and the 
diversity of tongues is to be traced to the period of the division of 
the family of man into distinct nations. 

The prophetic name given to Abram, is also a-standing vi'itness 
to the truth of the Mosaic history. *' Thy name shall be called 
Abraham, for a father of many nations have I made thee."t 
Abraham, in Hebrew, signifies the father of a multitude. And 
<« to whom," says Keith, " since his days, can the name so ap~ 
propriately pertain, as to him wiiose descendants peopled Pales- 
tine, Edom, and Arabia ; and whom the Arabs, with their multi- 
tude of tribes, and the Israelites, dispersed throughout the eart 

* Geji. X, 25-32, f Gen. x, 25-32. 



APPENDIX. 289 

both alike still numbered by millions, have claimed, for more than 
a hundred generations, as their common father ? And whose pro- 
phetic name yet awaits its full significancy, till all the families of 
the earth shall be blessed in his seed, and all nations shall call that 
man the father of the faithful." The same is true, also, of the 
name of Sarah. 

The name Ishmael, — the Lord shall hear, still existing in the 
numerous tribes of wandering Arabs, who claim him as their father, 
testifies to the fact recorded Gen. xvi, 7-13 ; and to this is added 
the well of Beer-lahai-roi, which still exists, a monument of the 
fact which gave its name, which signifies the well of him that liv- 
eth and seeth me. 

The name Beer-sheba, the well of the oath, yet marks the 
place where the covenant was made between Abraham and Abim- 
elech,^ and bears witness to the transaction recorded by Moses. 

The same thing might be traced through all the names of cities 
and places in the Holy Land, These names were generally signifi- 
cant of some event narrated by the sacred writers ; yet it is the 
united testimony of travellers, and a fact beyond dispute, that 
these places still retain their original Hebrew names, or a corruption 
which can easily be traced to the original ; and this even where 
nothing but ruins remain to point out the spot. Rev. Eli Smith, 
of the Syrian mission, says these facts are so obvious that even 
infidel travellers, who never read the Bible at home, find a Bible 
an indispensable companion of their travels in the Holy Land. 
Taken in connection with the signification of these names, and the 
events narrated in the Bible, these monuments furnish a lasting me- 
morial of the truth of the sacred histories. 

The right of circumcision, now practised by all the descendants 
of Abraham, furnishes a standing witness of the narrative given by 
Moses, of the covenant made with Abraham. And so the pass- 
over, which is now celebrated in the four quarters of the earth, 
still bears witness to the deliverance of the Israelites from the bond- 
age of Egypt. 

Rev. Eli Smith states that, as he was travelling in the region 
where the battle was fought by Joshua, in behalf of the Gibeonites, 

* Gen. xxi, 27-32. 

25 



290 APPENDIX. 

at about the same period of the moon and time of day, he was 
filled with wonder at beholding the sun standing directly over 
Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Ajalon ; thus furnishing 
a standing evidence of the miracle, wrought by Joshua, when he 
said, *« Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon ; and thou moon, in the 
valley of Ajalon." This fact is also corroborated by a passage in 
the Chinese history, which «« speaks of Yao, their king, declaring 
that in his reign the sun stood so long above the horizon that it 
was feared that the world would have been set on fire ; and fixes 
the reign of Yao at a given date, which corresponds with the age 
of Joshua."* The same event is also corroborated by the fable 
of Ovid, who tells us that a day was once lost, and that the earth 
was in great danger from the intense heat of an unusual sun ; and 
this fable is connected with the name of a Canaanitish prince.* 
Mr. Smith likewise states that he and his companion, Dr. Robin- 
son, on their visit to Mount Sinai, ascended the very place where 
the law was given ; which is an abrupt and precipitous mountain, 
rising so suddenly from the plain below as forcibly to remind him 
of** the mount that might be touched ;" and that the plain below 
rises in the form of an amphitheatre, and is extensive enough that 
the thousands of Israel might have stood upon it in plain view of 
the Holy Mount. He was, he said, very forcibly impressed with 
the idea that the place was made on purpose for the delivery of the 
law ; and now it stands a living monument of the reality of that 
awful transaction. 

The discoveries of science, in geometry and astronomy, cor- 
roborate the Mosaic account of the creation, and show that these 
subjects must have been fully understood by the Mind which in- 
dited that account. This is a subject, however, which cannot be 
condensed into the limits of a paragraph. It is worthy of being 
studied ; and it is adverted to here, chiefly for the purpose of call- 
ing attention to it, as an interesting and profitable matter to be 
studied. 

* Nelson, 



APPENDIX. 291 



THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

AGREEMENT OF THE WRITERS OF PROFA.NE HISTORY 
WITH THE FACTS RELATED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

The following is condensed from Home's Introduction to the 
Study of the Holy Scriptures : — 

1. From the New Testament we learn that Jesus was born at 
Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, and during the 
reign of Augustus. Josephus states that a prince of the name of 
Herod reigned over all Judea for thirty-seven years, even to the 
reign of Augustus. The character given to this Herod in the 
Scriptures agrees with that given to him in profane history ; and 
also the division of his territories among his three sons. Josephus 
speaks of Archelaus reigning in Judea, whom he represents as 
cruel and tyrannical. This corroborates the testimony of Matthew, 
who says, that when Joseph heard that Archelaus did reign in 
Judea, in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither, 
and turned aside into the parts of Gallilee, which were under the 
jurisdiction of Herod Antipas. 

Luke relates, Acts xii, 1-3, that Herod the king stretched forth 
his hand to vex certain of the church, and that he killed James, the 
brother of John, with the sword, and because he saw that it pleased 
the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. Josephus in- 
forms us that this Herod was grandson of Herod the Great, whom 
Mhe favor of Caligula and Claudius had raised to royal dignity. 
He was exceedingly zealous for the institutions and customs of the 
Jews ; which accounts for his putting James to death, and caus- 
ing Peter to be apprehended. There is a wonderful agreement be- 
tween the accounts of this king's death, as given by Luke and 
Josephus. Luke says, ** Upon a set day, Herod, arrayed in 
royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto 
them. And the people gave a shout, saying, < It is the voice of a 
god, and not of a man.' And immediately the angel of the Lord 
smote him, because he gave not God the glory. And he was eaten 



292 APPENDIX. 

of worms, and gave up the ghost." Josephns says that Herod 
came into the theatre, early in the morning, dressed in a robe or 
garment made wholly of silver, of most wonderful workmanship ; 
and that the reflection of the rays of the rising sun from the silver, 
gave him a majestic and awful appearance. In a short time his 
flatterers exclaimed, one from one place and one from another, that 
he was a god ; and they entreated him to be propitious to them, 
saying, «' Hitherto we have reverenced thee as a man, but hence- 
forth we acknowledge that thou art exalted above mortal nature.'* 
Immediately after, Josephus says, he was seized with pains in his 
bowels, extremely violent, and was carried to his palace, where 
he was worn out by the excruciating pain in his bowels. And 
Josephus assigns substantially the same cause as that given by 
Luke : — *« Because the king bad neither reproved his flatterers, 
nor rejected their impious adulation." 

The character of Felix, as given by Luke, also agrees with that 
given him by Josephus and Tacitus. So also, the character of 
Gallic, as indicated by his conduct during the riot at Corinth, 
agrees with that given him by his brother Seneca, the celebrated 
philosopher, who represents him as a man of sweet and gentle dis- 
position, and of much generosity and virtue. Luke says Gallio 
was deputy, — in the original proconsul, — of Achaia ; and history 
informs us that, at that time, proconsuls were sent into this 
country. 

2. There is an agreement between the New Testament histo- 
ries and profane writers in regard to the sects, morals, and customs 
of the Jews. It appears from Josephus that the Jews, under the 
Romans, enjoyed the free exercise of their religion, with the power 
of accusing and prosecuting, but not of putting any man to death. 
This explains their answer to Pilate, when he told them to take 
Jesus and crucify him, — they said, It is not lawful for us to put 
any man to death. 

The accounts given by the evangelists of the sects of Pharisees, 
Sadducees, and Herodians, as well as of the depravity of the Jew- 
ish nation in the time of Christ, and of the hatred between the 
Samaritans and Jews, are all confirmed by Josephus. So, also, 
the Roman mode of treating prisoners and crucifying criminals, 
as mentioned in the New Testament, is corroborated by the testi- 



APPENDIX. 293 

mony of Cicero, Plutarch, and other writers, who have incidentally 
mentioned it. The famine in the reign of Claudius, mentioned 
Acts xi, 28, is also mentioned by Josephus. 

From the accounts given of the Acts of the Apostles, by Luke, 
it appears that there were synagogues of Jews in all the places 
where they preached ; and from the writings of Philo, Josephus, 
and others, it appears that the Jews were dispersed into many 
countries before the destruction of Jerusalem. 

When Paul was brought before the chief Captain, Acts xxi, 38, 
that officer asked him, <* Art thou not that Egyptian, which before 
these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness 
four thousand men that were murderers ?" Josephus has recorded 
at length the transaction here incidentally mentioned. During the 
government of Felix, which was the time alluded to by Luke, an 
Egyptian, who pretended to be a prophet, led into the wilderness 
several thousand men, and marched against Jerusalem, promising 
that the walls should fall down at his command. Felix went out 
against him, and dispersed his followers. The chief Captain calls 
him, ** That Egyptian ;*^ and Josephus calls him the Egyptian, 
and the Egyptian and false prophet. 

3. There is a perfect accuracy in the incidental allusions of the 
apostles to the character and pursuits of heathen nations. Pau' 
says. The Greeks seek after luisdom ; which is notoriously their 
character, as described in profane history. Luke, in giving an ac- 
count of Paul's visit to Athens, speaks of that city as *« wholly 
given to idolatry." The Athenians, according to profane history, 
adopted the gods of all nations, and crowded into their capital all 
the divinities of the known world. Their streets were so encum- 
bered with statues, that it was said to be easier, at Athens, lo 
find a god than a man. So, also, the account given of the char- 
acter of the Athenians : — ** All the Athenians and strangers which 
were in their city, spent their time in nothing else but to tell or 
hear some new thing." Demosthenes describes them as loitering 
about, and inquiring in places of public resort, if there be any news ? 

Paul complains that among the Cretans there were *< many un- 
ruly and vain talkers and deceivers," &c., and he quotes from one 
of their own poets, *« The Cretans are always liars, evil-beasts, 
slow-bellies," and adds, *< which witness is true." This exactly 
25* 



294 APPENDIX. 

agrees with history. From the time of Homer, the island of 
Crete was regarded as the scene of fiction. Many authors affirm 
that its inhabitants were infamous for their violation of truth ; and 
at length their falsehood became so notorious, that to cretise^ or 
imitate the Cretans, was a proverbial expression among the an- 
cients for lying. 

4. Testimonies furnished by adversaries to the name and faith 
of Christ, further corroborate the New Testament narratives. 

The following passage from Josephus is so remarkable, that its 
genuineness has been doubted ; but Home maintains, in a long 
argument, that it is genuine, — that it agrees with the context, — 
and that it could not have been interpolated. Josephus says, after 
relating a sedition of the Jews against Pontius Pilate, which the 
latter quelled, — *' Now there was, about this time, Jesus, a wise 
man, if it be lawful to call him a man ; for he performed many 
wonderful works. He was a teacher of such men as received the 
truth with pleasure. He drew over to him many of the Jews, and 
also many of the Gentiles. This was the Christ. And when 
Pilate, at the instigation of the principal men among us, had con- 
demned him to the cross, those who had loved him from the first, 
did not cease to adhere to him. For he appeared to them alive 
again on the third day ; the divine prophets having foretold these 
and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And 
the tribe or sect of Christians so named from him, subsists to this 
time." 

The Jewish Talmuds, also, admit the main facts respecting the 
birth of Christ, his journey into Egypt, &c., and also that he per- 
formed many miracles ; but they impute them to magjc arts. 

It was customary for the governors of provinces to send to the 
emperor accounts of remarkable transactions, which occurred in 
the places where they resided, which were preserved as the acts 
of their respective governments. Pilate sent such a work to Rome, 
which was called Acta Pilata. Eusebius says, *«Our Saviour's 
resurrection being much talked of, Pilate informed the emperor of 
it, as likewise of his miracles, of which he had heard ; and that, 
being raised up, after he had been put to death, he was already 
believed by many to be a God. These accounts were deposited, 
among the archives of the empire j and the Christian writers, iD 



APPENDIX. 295 

their apologies, often appealed to the Acts of Pilate, to prove 
the truth of what they asserted. Tiberius Caesar even proposed 
to the Senate to have the name of Jesus enrolled among the Ro- 
man gods. The main facts respecting Christ, as narrated by the 
evangelists, are attested by heathen writers, especially Tacitus 
and Celsus. 

The miraculous darkness, mentioned by the evangelists as cov- 
ering the earth at the time of Christ's death, with the great 
earthquake, are mentioned and recognized as facts by Celsus, a 
most bitter opposer of Christianity. Tertullian, also, in his apol- 
ogy, expressly refers his adversaries to this darkness, as a known 
and admitted fact. 

In addition to the foregoing, there is another species of cor- 
roborative testimony, derived from ancient coins, medals, and 
inscriptions, which establishes many facts incidentally alluded to 
in the Bible. But a bare allusion to some of these inscriptions 
and repesensations is all that can be given here. A coin struck 
at Apamea, in the reign of Philip the elder, has on it a repre- 
sentation of Noah's Ark, — a man and woman passing out of 
it, and two persons remaining inside, — a dove fluttering over 
it, with an olive leaf in her mouth, — and another bird perched 
on the roof, — and on one side of the Ark is the word NOE, 
in Greek characters. Facts respecting Egypt, alluded to in the 
narrative of Moses, are confirmed by representations contained 
in the tombs and other ruins in that country, some of them very 
striking. The account of the war carried on by Pharaoh-necho, 
against the Jews and Babylonians, related in the second book of 
Chronicles, and confirmed by Herodotus, the historian, is corrobo- 
rated by a sculpture in the tomb of the son of that king, repre- 
senting three different sets of prisoners in a triumphal procession, 
who are evidently Jews, Ethiopians, and Persians. In Acts xiii, 
7, the Roman governor of Cyprus is called a proconsul ; and on 
a coin which was struck in the reign of Claudius Caesar, is in- 
scribed the same title which Luke gives to Sergius Paulus, prov- 
ing that the country was then under the government of pro- 
consuls. There is also a coin, which confirms what Luke says of 
Philippi, (Acts xvi, 11, 12,) that it was the chief of that part of 



296 APPENDIX. 

Macedania, and a colony. In the fourteenth verse of the same' 
chapter, we read of Lydia, a dealer in purple from Thyatira ; and 
among the ruins of that place there is an inscription made by a cor- 
poration of dyers, by which it appears that the business of dying 
purple was carried on at that place. The triumphal arch, erected 
in Rome, by Titus, to commemorate his victories in Palestine,, 
still exists, an undeniable proof of the histories of the destruction 
of Jerusalem, and the dissolution of the Jewish &tate, which show 
the fulfilment of Christ's predictions. There are, also, medals of 
Judea vanquished, struck by the order of Titus, one of which fur- 
nishes an extraordinary fulfilment of Isaiah's prediction, delivered 
at least eight hundred years before : — **She being desolate, shall 
sit upon the ground."* On this medal, the conquered country is 
represented under the emblem of a desolate female, sitting under a 
tree. This, also, agrees with what Jeremiah says, in Lamentations : 
•* How doth the city sit solitary ! How is she become as a widow!" 
These are only a specimen of a great many similar facts, of 
which any one may satisfy himself by examination. 

The foregoing facts furnish circumstantial evidence of the truth- 
of the sacred volume, of the strongest kind. They prove that 
these books were written in the age to which they are ascribed ; 
and also, that whenever the writers^^ have alluded to existing facts, 
their statements are perfectly and minutely accurate. This estab- 
lishes the credibility of the authors ; and if they are proved to be 
correct in all particulars concerning which we have concurrent tes- 
timony, they are entitled to credit in regard to every thing else. 
But if all their statements are true, they must have been inspired, 
so that what they wrote is the word of God ; for this they assert. 
Moreover, all the traditions which have been mentioned, as agree- 
ing in the main with the accounts of the- sacred writers, are so far 
mixed with fable, as to point to the sacred records for the true ac- 
count. These things certainly prove that the Bible is not a for- 
gery ; but that it was written by honest and credible men, at the 
time it professes to have been written. And no one can give it a 
careful perusal, v^rith this belief concerning it, without coming to 
to the conclusion that it is a revelation from God. 

* Isaiah iii, Sn. 



APPENDIX. 297 

B. 
INSPIRATION. 

The following definition of inspiration, with the Scripture proofs 
referred to, is more full than that given in the body of the work. 
It is a just and clear explanation of the theory of inspiration , so 
far as it is proper to theorise on the subject. It is by the Rev. 
John Brown, of Haddington. 

««In what manner the influence, by which the penmen of the 
Scriptures were directed, afifected them, we pretend not fully to 
explain. It is enough for us to know, that thereby they were in- 
fallibly guided and determined to declare what they did not formerly 
know ; to conceive properly of what they had formerly known ; 
and to express their subject in terms absolutely just in themselves, 
and calculated to convey the truths represented to others. But so 
far we may conclude, that, while the penmen exercised their own 
reason and judgment ; Ps. xlv, 1 ; Mark xii, 36 ; Luke i, 3 ; 
Acts i, 1 ; 1 Peter i, 11 ; the Holy Ghost (1) Effectually stirred 
them up to write ; 2 Peter i, 21 ; (2) Appointed to each his 
proper share or subject correspondent with his natural talents, and 
the necessities of the church in his time ; 2 Peter i, 21 ; Mat. xxv. 
15 ; (3) Enlightened their minds, and gave them a duly distinct view 
of the truths which they were to deliver ; Jer. i, 11-16, and xiii, 
9-14 ; Ezek. iv, 4-8 ; Dan. x, 1, 14 ; and ix, 22-27 ; and viii, 
15-19 ; and xii, 8 ; Amos vii, 7, 8 ; and viii, 2 ; Zech. i, 19, 
21 ; and iv, 11-14 ; and v, 6 ; 1 Peter i, 10, 11 ; Eph. iii, 3, 4 ; 
John xvi, 13. Perhaps this illumination was given all at once to 
Paul, when caught up to the third heaven, but was bestowed 
gradually on the other apostles ; Mark iv, 34 ; Luke xxiv, 17, 45 ; 
John XX, 22 ; Acts ii, 4 ; and x, 9-15, 28, 34 ; (4) He strength- 
ened and refreshed their memories to recollect whatever they had 
seen or heard, which he judged proper to be inserted in their writ- 
ings ; John xiv, 26 ; Luke i, 3 ; Jer. xxxi, 3 ; (5) Amidst a 
multitude of facts, he directed them to write precisely what was 
proper for the edification of the church, and neither more nor less ; 



298 APPENDIX. 

John XX, 30, 31 ; and xxi, 25 ; Rom. xv, 4 ; 1 Cor. x, 6-11 ; 
Rom. iv, 23, 24 ; (6) He excited in their minds such images and 
ideas as had been treasured up in their memories, and directed 
them to other ends and purposes than themselves would ever have 
done of their own accord. Tims, under inspiration, Amos draws 
his figures from herds, flocks,, and fields ; Panl makes use of his 
classical learning ; Amos i-ix ; Acts xvii, 28 ; 1 Cor. xv, 33 ; 
Titus i, 12 ; (7) He immediately suggested and imprinted on 
their minds such things as could not be known by reason, observa- 
tion or information, but were matters of pure revelation ; Isa. xlvi, 
9, 10 ; xli, 22, 23 ; and xlv, 21 ; whether they respected doc- 
trines, 1 Tim. iii, 16 ; or facts past or future, Gen. i, ii, iii ; Lev. 
xxvi, &c. (8) He so superintended every particular writer, as 
to render him infallible in his matter, words, and arrangement ; 
and, by his superintending influence, made them all in connection 
so write, as to render the whole Scripture, at any given period, a 
sufficient infallible rule to direct men to true holiness and everlasting 
happiness ; Deut. viii, 4 ; Ps. xix, 7-11 ; cxix and i, 2 ; John v, 
39 ; Mat. xxii, 29 ; Luke xvi, 29, 31 ; Rom. xv, 4 ; 2 Tim. iii, 
15-17 ; 2 Peter i, 19. Many of the sentences recorded in Scrip- 
ture are not inspired in themselves, being the words of Satan or of 
wicked men ; but the Scripture report relative to these expres- 
sions is directed by divine inspiration. That our books of the Old 
and New Testament, the Apocraphai^ tkacts being excluded 
from both, are of an infallible and divine original, is thus^ 
evident.*' 



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